Challenge Check-In #1

I plan on completing Challenge #2: Hip-Hop Spaces. I plan on writing about the basketball team's training facility, specifically the weight room. The women's tennis team, which includes myself, have strength conditioning there three times a week, and I feel that this location can easily be viewed as having elements of hip-hop. I chose this challenge because it would be easy to write about, as I am at this location frequently, and the hip-hop elements there are easy for me to see. Hip-hop music is constantly blaring, and I feel a sense of pride and strength when I am there. Hip-hop is more than just music, it is overcoming difficulties and taking pride in yourself. Strength training is the hardest thing thing for me out of all the difficulties college leaves me faced with, and overcoming it provides me with a strength and sense of pride that I feel is similar to the feelings hip-hop music is meant to express and inspire.

Homework 10.27

It may be argued that losing control of the privacy of your personal life comes with the territory of being a public figure, or that Jennifer Lawrence should never have had these nude photos to start with. It could be said that spreading of her photos across the Internet was not a physical assault, and therefore not a sex crime. However, the claim that Jennifer Lawrence’s status as a celebrity invalidates her right to feel violated and wronged by people looking at her naked body is in itself wrong. Viewing her as only a celebrity and not a human being is inherently wrong, as it dehumanizes her. Celebrities are people too. Simply because Jennifer Lawrence and other female celebrities allow people to look at them clothed through their movies and public appearances, does not mean that they have allowed anybody to look at their naked body. As to the argument that Jennifer Lawrence should never have had those photos, it is her business alone as to what she does with her body, who she shows it to, and by what means she shows them. These photos were private and intimate, and they were stolen from her and wrongfully displayed to the world. By definition, a sex crime is a crime involving sexual assault or having a sexual motive. The robbery of private photos with the motive of using Jennifer Lawrence's sexuality against her will to make a profit  without a doubt meet the criteria of this definition. Jennifer Lawrence, and many other female celebrities, are frequently dehumanized and turned into a sexual object, with little to no objection from society. This is not in the fault of these celebrities, it is in the fault of society.

10.15 Homework

• In your own words, explain what evaluative writing is. 
• Why is establishing criteria important for an evaluative essay?
• At the end of the short essay (#2), there is a list of 5 questions. Choose one of the five questions and answer it on your blog. 

Evaluative writing is writing that analyzes and offers an opinion on a particular subject based on a set of criteria. When evaluating something through writing, it is important to define the particular set of criteria the subject is being evaluated on, because without doing this, the audience of the essay would have no way of knowing why the subject is good, bad, or whatever else is said about it in the essay. The essay would have no real substance or credibility. 

3) What is to be gained from seeing this issue from the point of view of a music executive? 

By seeing this issue from the point of view of a music executive, readers are granted the ability to see what efforts the industry already makes to ensure that music is appropriate for the people listening to it, and the reasoning behind these efforts. The author's point of view enabled me to see that music can be beneficial, and form a bridge between generations, so it shouldn't be blamed for violence. It also enabled me to see that despite the music industry's standpoint on music, music may still be deemed inappropriate for specific audiences.

Family Discourse (B)

B. Think back on a decision you made as a young adult with or without the help of your family. As you describe this moment of decision making, think about the mood of the moment. Find a series of images or a YouTube video that evoke that mood and briefly explain why you choose that image/video.

My junior year of high school, I made a decision that would define the rest of my life, and I made it entirely without the help of friends or family. I chose to attend the University of Florida and compete for the tennis team there. My mother and father were both pushing for me to select one of the more academic options available, such as Stanford or Duke, but I knew that tennis was my passion. I wouldn't be happy anywhere that wasn't constantly pushing me to the limits of my game, and honing my skills as an athlete. It took me about a month to make this life-altering decision, and it was an emotional and stressful time. Options were rolling around in my mind and coaches were trying to sway me one way and then the other. However, during this time, I was competing in professional tournaments. I was doing well and wanted to win more desperately each day. I was in competition mode, and the only thing on my mind was getting better and reaching the top. This video is an appropriate representation of my mood and focus during my decision-making process. This clip shows not only the focus of the players, but also the passion that all players share for the sport. I chose the University of Florida because of my desire to be the best tennis player that I could be. My passion and drive were deciding factors, and my faith in the program here sealed the deal.

Norman Tunnel and Hip-Hop

Hip-hop is much more than a genre of music. Hip-hop is a cultural movement. It started as a way for repressed minority groups to express themselves and their struggle to as many people that would listen, and it has grown to become a way for all youth to express themselves and relate collectively. Hip-hop has become a sort of community, that takes away racial and social boundaries and allows for people to connect through music, dance, such as breakdance, and art, such as graffiti art.

The University of Florida's Norman Tunnel is an expression of hip-hop. The tunnel is covered in graffiti art, with students constantly repainting and recovering various sections of the tunnel's walls. This tunnel takes away social boundaries, just as hip-hop does, and allows students to connect with each other through their self-expression. Students express themselves through the pictures and words they paint onto the wall, and then other students respond or react to each other's expression, which creates a connection. The tunnel functions the same way as hip-hop on a smaller scale, and through a form of hip-hop, graffiti art.

Kanye West's Runaway

Scene:
"All of the Lights"

Message of the Scene:
I think that in this scene, Kanye is trying to relay that innocence is temporary, and life brings it to an end at some point. The way that his bird-alien girlfriend (or whatever she is) is dancing is very sexual, and her face and mannerisms in the beginning of the scene are highly suggestive. Prior to this, she had been very innocent and naive in her behavior (although not in her dress). This is also the first part of the film where it is suggested that Kanye and her have a sexual relationship.

Analysis:
The look on the bird-alien's face and the way she moves her body is used to show and emphasize her sexuality, and therefor display her corruption.

Career Discourse

C. 

I have never been the type to really enjoy classes or become overly interested in anything going on in the school room, I had always envisioned myself as a professional athlete. Nothing else had ever entered my head, it was always going to be tennis. Eighth grade is when that all changed. I walked into my biology classroom the second week of school, my last period of the day. At that point, any ability to listen had completely evaporated. My teacher was one of the school's football coaches, a good sign. Here was someone that would understand my absences and my real priorities. I sit down in the back with all my friends, planning on passing the period immersed in gossip. Two minutes until class starts, and the teacher is sitting at his desk,  not even acknowledging any of his students. Not that any of us minded. Then the bell rings, and he without pause strides to the front of the room and just smiles at us. "I know all of y'all are tired, so today I'm just going to tell a story" he says. All of the students look at each other uneasily, thinking we got a crazy teacher. Without a pause he launches into a story about a coconut. It sounds ridiculous, but all of us were so invested in this story. He made it dramatic and vivid. He made the story about the travels and growth of a coconut into a tree into a miracle. Then I realized, it was.  At the end of his story, after the coconut had dropped from the tree, been lifted by the tide and carried by the ocean to another beach where it would have room to grow, he asked us if we still thought biology was boring. One student raised his hand and asked "but that wasn't biology, that was just a story, right?" My teacher smiled and said "that was a story about life, and biology is life. Life is amazing and miraculous, so why shouldn't learning about it be?" Right then and there, my entire philosophy regarding my future changed. Yes, I still want to play professional tennis, but now I had other interests. Ultimately, this one class with an unbelievably inspiring teacher made me decide to go to college. I don't know if I will be majoring in biology just yet, but he opened my eyes to how fast and unbelievable the world around me really is. Surely in all the infinite possibilities in the world around me, there is something that will awaken my passion. If a coconut can undergo such a miraculous journey to find a home, surely I too can find a home in a career.