Self-Critique

I have enjoyed the majority of the blogs assigned throughout the semester and always tried my best when writing them. At first my style of writing was very formal, but as the semester progressed I became more relax and my writing became more personal. As far as my best blog, I believe it was the Writing about Learning blog assigned early in October. While writing it I didn’t think I had done that great of a job because I didn’t understand the prompt very well. I just gave it my best shot and wrote about my opinions concerning the nature of learning. The comments I got for this particular blog were very positive and I was proud of my work after reading the praise. All the blogs we had to write about our experience in a hybrid course were my worst blogs. Writing five hundred words on that topic was a little difficult from time to time, but I understand why we had to write them so I still took them seriously.

Blogs were similar to homework assignments and I viewed them as a necessary task. Some were very interesting, such as the Challenging Media blog which discussed the nature of Disney movies. I truly enjoyed watching that video and writing that blog because I had no idea about the true intentions of Disney. I learned from the blogs that made us discuss controversial topics such as this Disney blog. I do not plan on blogging outside of this course, but I do plan to continue to write in my journal. I’m too old fashion to continue a journal online and prefer to hand write certain things. My relationship with writing publicly has not changed much, simply from being formal to casual throughout the semester, as I mentioned earlier.

Annotated Bibliography

I have decided to change my original response essay topic, movies against promiscuity, due to a lack of sources. I am now expanding on the essay titled Teenage Pregnancy and Single Parents: 16 and Pregnant. While being raised by a single parent can lead to young pregnancies, my response essay will state that there are other reasons for teenage pregnancy besides a lack of parental guidance

           

          Source 1: This article describes five reasons for teenage pregnancy. The first is a lack of parental guidance, which is what the preliminary essay described. The second is adolescent sexual behavior. The third is an inadequate knowledge about safe sex. The fourth is exploitation by older men. The fifth reason is socio economic factors.

           

          <http://health.top54u.com/post/Causes-of-Teenage-Pregnancy.aspx>.

           

          Source 2: This article describes the reasoning behind teenage pregnancies in America and in other countries, mostly third world nations. In third world countries early pregnancies are a result of traditional and early marriage. Being fertile is a gift therefore; being pregnant is seen as a good thing. The in-take of drugs is also mentioned as a reason for young pregnancies. Also, sexual abuse is a main cause for teenage pregnancies.

           <http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Are-The-Causes-Of-Teenage-Pregnancy?&id=753619>.

           

          Source 3: This source discusses not only the causes of teenage pregnancy, but also the effects and consequences. Some of the causes were long term relationships, carefree sex, and passion. These are not very strong reasons however, they are still relevant. The effects include early responsibility, changes in body, and life-style change. I’m not sure if I can use these effects of this source just yet.

http://pregnancy.ygoy.com/unplanned-pregnancy/causes-and-effects-of-teenage-pregnancy/

Response Essay

The topic that I have chosen to write about is Natalie’s essay titled Losing Virginity to the Big Screen’s Lies. Her argument states that due to big budget movies dramatizing sex and one night stands, without displaying any of the consequences, makes promiscuity acceptable in today’s society. Although I agree with the basic complaint and understand where she is coming from I also think there are many movies that show true hardship concerning this problem which audiences can learn from as well. I read quite a few of my classmate’s essays and found Natalie’s entertaining and something that I could counter well, as I found myself creating counter arguments while I read. Although I do agree with her, as I did with most of the essays I read in class, I can think of a well written counter argument that would make for a perfect response essay to her preliminary essay.

 The main point I would like to make in my response essay would be that not all movies promote promiscuity in young adults. Some even teach viewers the consequences of such actions by creating story lines about hard working single mothers, determined single fathers, desperate pregnant teenagers, and depressed HIV patients. These recent and popular movies that present such admirable characters include Waitress, The Pursuit of Happiness, Juno, and Rent along with so many others that teach viewers the value of safe sex. Waitress shows what it’s truly like for a woman to raise a child alone, The Pursuit of Happiness displays the lifestyle of a single father with no money, Juno leaves nothing out in teen pregnancy, and Rent brutally shows the darker side of contracting HIV and AIDS. There are millions of movies and each one can send out many messages, so to state that all movies today send out messages to encourage having sex at a young age is extreme.

Another point I would like to make is the fact that it is a parent’s responsibility to teach his or her children to practice safe and appropriate sex, not movies. Movies are for audience’s entertainment and not to be viewed as a lesson to learn from. I understand that people act certain ways based off of what they continuously see and if they continually see movies that have promiscuous characters in them then audiences begin to think this is ok. This is especially true if viewers look up to the actors and actresses as well and would like to be them. However, if a teenager is old enough to go see a movie that has promiscuous behavior, then they are old enough to know that it is wrong and inappropriate to act the same. This is where parents must step in and guide their children in the right direction when they begin to stray. There are also other means of media that can influences children and young teenagers in the wrong directions, not just big screen movies. These media’s include television (notably reality television), advertisements, and music.

Challenging Media

I thought the video Mickey Mouse: Disney, Childhood and Corporate Power was very interesting, however, I found it slightly overly analytical. I will admit that Disney has an enormous obligation to fulfill as story tellers and movie makers for children of all generations all over the world. Every child at some point will watch and unconsciously interpret a Disney film and it is the job of the creators at Disney to make sure that the messages sent out are ones that are appropriate for children to learn. Disney truly shapes our children’s imaginations. I was very taken by the comment made by Dr. Henry Giroux who states “it has a certain romance about it that allows us, in some way, to treat Disney as the ultimate form of fantasy, a fantasy that never needs to be questioned.” I could not have said that better myself and agree with this statement wholeheartedly. I believe that it is this exuberance of fantasy that keeps children watching, and re-watching, Disney movies throughout the years.

It is clear that Disney has tremendous influence over the youth of this generation and past generations and I understand that some people argue against Disney as teaching dangerous lessons to these children. One women in the video stated that the message of Beauty and the Beast was that girls should stay with a “beast” that harms you because all you have to do is find the “prince” within. Another women stated that Chinese people were put down in Disney’s Lady and the Tramp because of the, clearly Chinese, evil Siamese cats. I think that these views are too overly critical and overly analytical. I believe that the message for Beauty and the Beast is completely different from what this lady makes it out to be as Belle was a well-read, intelligent women who didn’t put up with characters like Gaston. I also think that Mulan is a great movie for children to watch to appreciate and learn about Chinese culture. That movie was very respectful to Chinese traditions. There are many more types of media that send worse messages to children these days, such as the lyrics to modern rap and hip-hop music. I believe the music industry is infinitely worse than Disney in the values and morals it teaches. All you have to do is turn on G105 on the radio to understand my conclusion.

Even though I defend Disney’s ethics, I was very disturbed toward the end of this video when I heard that the view of Disney was as follows: “we have no obligation to make history, we have no obligation to make art, and we have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only objective.” I find this statement hard to believe as each and every Disney movie has defied the test of time and made history, the animation is considered to be art, and each storyline told will make a statement. Based off of these conclusions it is clear that Disney has a much greater obligation than the selfish objective to make money.

Dissenting Voices

I disagree with everything Philip Kitcher has written in the Philosophy of Science textbook titled Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism. Because I am in this outlandish philosophy class I have to attempt to read your material about the theories of how the world was created, the meaning of life, and if there is a God which confuses me for days at a time. This is the true reason why I disagree with your writing; why even attempt to answer the big questions of what the differences between religion and science are concerning the creation of the world if each person holds their own beliefs? Therefore, I disagree with your overall topic. This is not to say that I don’t enjoy a meaningful or deep conversation every now and then but this material is so deep and personal that it should remain in private conversation, not the classroom.

It’s not that the material you discuss is poorly written because your arguments concerning Evolution versus Creationism are actually very eloquently stated, albeit sometimes hard to follow.  Using the phrase “quietness is wholeness in the center of stillness” (Kitcher, p.45, 2010) will not make your ideas become any clearer to the reader even though it is well written. Also titling a chapter “The History of Life” (Kitcher, p. 27, 2010) or “The Meaning of Life” (Kitcher, pg. 56, 2010) may scare your readers off.

It’s not that your material is offensive because in order to offend people they have to understand the argument giving offense, and your book is not something easy to read on a summer day with a glass of lemonade. My point is that people will not be offended unless they understand what your conclusions are about the two theories of how life began which, as most people are not Creationists scientists or Evolutionary scientists, they cannot. Your writing would only give offense if someone is truly a Creationist and believe that a higher being created the universe because every line in your book proves your obvious inclination toward the belief of Evolution and pragmatic scientific theories presented by Darwin (it’s the one thing we both agree on).Therefore, because I agree about your theories of Evolution I am not offended at all by your writing just what you write about.

It’s not that your arguments are incorrect because everyone has their own beliefs on how the world began and if someone chooses a religious idea over a scientific one than that is a matter of opinion which cannot be proven wrong. I simply disagree with the idea of writing an entire textbook on this subject to begin with. I know philosophy is often defined, by perplexed college students, as the “art of confusing people” but throwing in the religion versus science complex into the mix gives the word “confusion” a whole new level. My only outside sources would be the other students in my class who also attempt to understand your ideas and they would all agree that reading this book does the opposite of summarize the origin of the universe and mainly confuses.

Online Interaction

Sure, I think blog posts are helpful. We only meet once a week so it a good way to stay up to date with what were discussing in class. It’s also a good way to communicate with other classmates and get new opinions on certain topics. It also helps to know, when we have blogs on what our essay formatting ideas are, that others students are just as nervous to write the paper and yourself. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up with your work and frustrations and you may think that you’re the only one struggling at times. Getting a comment that says something like “I think we’re all nervous about that part” or “I know how you feel about picking a topic I’m having the same concerns” always brings me back to reality.

It’s pretty rare that true conversations start from blog comments. At least for me it is. I have only begun a slight conversation about something concerning science; I forget the true topic now. Ms. Clark got into it though and gave her opinion and she even said in the comment “this doesn’t really have anything to do with your comment Ashley, sorry” which I thought was funny. So that led to something more than just a blog comment but that’s as far as I have ever gone. Normally comments are just there to offer encouragement or compliment an idea that was stated in the blog.

I actually prefer the blogs more than the forum discussions because you have more opportunities to be creative in a blog post than answering questions in a forum discussion. Plus, I feel blog posts are more personable and casual than a forum discussion which is nice. Forum discussions are more like class work or peer reviews where as blogs and blog comments are more like journal entries and discussions with friends and classmates.

I am not dissatisfied with my blog experience and think my fellow classmates are doing a great job keeping up with blogs and blog comments. We’re all new to this hybrid type class so I would never say anything bad about how others are handling it. I do need to finish writing the discussion part in my qualitative media essay though and I have about one hundred more words to write here so that would be a downfall to blogging and commenting every now and then. It just sometimes gets in the way of the more important things, but time management can solve that problem.

I also just accidently did next week’s blog by mistake so this is the second set of five hundred words I am writing toady, along with my essay. But that could also be a positive thing about hybrid classes because I just accidently got ahead. So to sum up: I enjoy blogs however don’t think they lead to more conversations as I only had one true conversation; I think my classmates are doing a great job with them as well; and I am not unsatisfied with the interaction experience.

  

Qualitative Research Concerns

My biggest concern with qualitative research is just the fact that I have never done this type of research and writing before. I know there is a certain format that you have to follow and certain things that need to be addressed when discussing the chosen topic. The last essay had a few new parts as well such as the abstract and catching on wasn’t too difficult so I’m not too concerned about formatting, simply curious. The fact that we even have a format to follow for this essay is a relief because for the audience effect paper I had a difficult time creating a format that would flow well. Also the interviews that could be involved are a somewhat foreign method of gaining information for me and I am not exactly sure who to ask, classmates or adults. I don’t really know how to use the information I gather in interviews when writing this essay nor do I feel I truly know the questions that should be asked, I only have an idea. I understand that I need to get opinions on the differences between two interpretations of a story but I have only a vague idea on how to use those questions and answers within my writing. I also have a few concerns about actually writing open-ended questions for these interviews which is not something I thought I would need to be concerned about. However, after class on Thursday when Ms. Clark examined a few qualitative questions I realized it might be harder than I had originally thought. All of these concerns will probably lessen once I decide on a topic and begin using this topic to understand the prompt a little more. I don’t believe I will have a problem staying away from quantitative research because we already wrote one paper that involved numbers and scientific data and one essay on that is enough for me.

In contrast, I am looking forward to picking a topic for this essay because there are so many options and directions I could look into. These topics are also a lot more fun than the last essay as well which is a good thing. If I had to choose between the theories of evolution vs. the little mermaid I would choose the fairy tale to write about. There are so many books and stories that have been altered and changed into movies that the topics are pretty much unlimited and I’m looking forward to writing about these differences. I am seriously considering writing about the differences between Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and the 2005 film interpretation of the story and how this film has modernized the tale for the 21^th century viewer. Interviewing will be a challenge but I feel it is necessary for the qualitative research involved in this essay and figuring out whom to interview and what to ask could become difficult. If I write about Pride and Prejudice that rules out interviewing my parents or the rest of my family because I’m pretty sure I’m the only one whose ever picked up a Jane Austen novel in my house.