Hall 1121 Spring 2019

Celebrities, everyone in the world has a celebrity which inspires them to do better and one day become like them or maybe people want to become like them. Well, what if everyone is going to start doing what most celebrities do. In some cases this can be a tragedy, because in the past few years many known celebrities committed suicide. If everyone would start doing the same the world population would go down pretty quickly, which is not a good think. A study released in February by researchers at Columbia University said there were 18,690 suicides in the four months after the death of Robin Williams in August 2014, suggesting an excess of 1,841 cases — nearly a 10% increase, based on previous monthly suicide data from 1999 to 2015 (Fottrell 4). In the past year celebrities Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain had ended their lives which has caused a lot of rumor in social media. This means that celebrities are effecting other people when committing suicide. It is important that people understand that we should stop the spread of suicide and once for all end it. Many factors are not helping stopping suicide from happening but instead numbers of people committing suicide are increasing and reasons are unhappy environment, social media and substance abuse.Woo and Postalache states “Behind the curtain of world economy globalization, the occupational environment is delivering increasing stress, such as job insecurity, increasing workload, and the burden of lifelong learning. Larger proportion of employees became involved in service- and knowledge-based industries requiring heavy technological preparedness and mental stress. If the pace of change exceeds the capacity of the workers to cope, negative stress reactions can occur.” Also another statement is  “The relationship between occupational environment and mood disorders seems to be reciprocal, creating vicious cycles in many cases. For example, depressive episodes resulting from work-related stress can impact vocational performance by ‘presenteeism’ due to decreased concentration, reduced motivation, and decision errors, as well as ‘absenteeism’ Negative feedback from the organization, decreased self-esteem, and reduced salary may follow and add on the stress level of depressed workers.” (9) This evidence is showing how bad environment can effect people in a way which most of the times leads to suicide. Most of us spends at least 5 to 8 hour s a day outside, this is why environment has such a big effect on us. What then people experience when outside effects them in different ways and those can vary. A bigger part of people are effected most by their work environment. This is crucial because by understanding what is frustrating many of us can result has a better environment and that can then lead to an happy environment and suicide rate caused by unhappy environment might reduce.

Amani Nassar

English 1121

Dr. Hall

March 12, 2019

We Gon’ Be Alright

Music has become the most expressive form of power in times of struggle. The Compton born, Kendrick Lamar has been making history all throughout his time in the music industry with one of his most groundbreaking album “To Pimp A Butterfly.” The multi Grammy winning album speaks on the many issues people of color face as well as mental health in songs like “King Kunta”, “The Blacker the Berry,” “U”, and one of the most influential songs of our time “Alright.” This notable Hip Hop album pulls a rally of emotions to call for a push to change the world we all live in. Who would have known the tremendous impact this song would have on our generation?

The song has reached many platforms from a chant at rallies for protest at institutions to even protest at presidential campaign. The chants of “we gon’ be alright” have become so symbolic as the people look for a reason to keep hoping for change. Past acts of oppression and current acts have helped create songs like “Alright” where Kendrick created music that resonates with so many people helping them get through tragedies they may face almost everyday. There is a sense of unity within the song that Lamar creates that reflects the black community.

 

Kendrick Lamar is such a renowned artist, yet very few of his songs are played on the radio. He is just one of the few artist who actually makes music with an impactful message unlike others who only rap about money or sex. I admire him for standing out in a crowd of individuals who all sound alike, he has so much to offer his fans.

 

The music video starts off with a monologue where Kendrick talks about his journey growing up as a young black man in society. The videos includes acts of police brutality. There are several visuals that Kendrick uses as metaphors to allude to the black community rising against oppression and police violence in scenes like where you see 4 white police officers carrying the car in which Lamar and his friends sit in. There are other scenes in which we see singers and dancers on top of police cars acting almost as if there was nothing bad going on around them. This seems to bring a hopeful feel to the video that together we are strong and we can get through anything.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/15/video-game-industry-diversity-problem-women-non-white-people

 

Erik Yan

3-9-19

Dr.Carrie Hall

 

How many games can you name with a female main character? You’d probably be able to name one, Lara Croft. Who is the oh so popular archaeologist and treasure hunter. She is one amazing example of a female leader but that’s also a pity because she’s the only one people would think of. A ton of people play video games with male leads but not so many female leads. Female representation in the game industry is terribly low. This would mean that majority of the industry are male dominated and appeal more towards the males that play games.

There are a lot of popular video game titles such as Master Chief from halo or Nathan Drake from Uncharted. As you can imagine, most of these popular heros are all male characters. The disparities between the gaming industry and females in them have led to female misrepresentation and harassment. This would probably be due to the lack of females in courses related to video games such as computer science. Since there isn’t really many females in the development of games, there is no input from them either this would lead to male creators making the characters however they want. This has led to a lot of games where women have been sexualized. Some examples would actually be Lara Croft. The original iteration of her was portrayed as having large breasts and a super skinny waist. This portrayal of Lara Croft appeals to the male masses. This can also lead to false representation of women in the real world. This stereotypes women in having only large breasts and a slim waist.

The video games that do include females have them in a supportive role or a damsel in distress role. This would making portraying women as weak and having to rely on the male main character to assist them. A great example would be Mario. Mario is Italian plumber whose main goal throughout the multiple Mario games is to save Princess Peach. This is the most iconic damsel in distress example. Every version of Mario, you have Mario trying to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser who is the king of the koopa race. The koopa race are basically a turtle like race.

Name : Tohuratun Chowdhury

class: English 1121

Creative project

For the creative project, my topic is “women empowerment”. I am using a book called “ I am Malala: the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban” by Malala Yousafzai. When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price. Also, I will use a painting to show the power of women empowerment. I am planning to draw an eye and inside the eyeball, I want to draw a girl holding a book and price. Which I want to show that she achieved her goal after facing all the conflicts  I will use some Malala yousafzai motivational quotes about women’s empowerment.

 

The point I want to discuss

1. I want to talk about the importance of education for women.
2. The conflict women have to face to get success.
3. How women can change people thinking about women rights.
4. Being independent.  

 

(I felt like a nut after writing this) https://books.google.com/books/about/Manifesto_of_the_Communist_Party.html?id=s2iEeCJAlusC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false

Nicholas Wojno

English 1121

Dr. Hall

March 12th, 2019

Swimsuit Manifesto

A cold is setting in across the gaming scene and users are simply bundling up and letting the cold numb their senses. They stare ahead as the winds freeze them head to toe, leaving them oblivious to what is going on around them. The blizzard rages on and shows no signs of stopping. A select few keep the lights turned down low and embrace what is happening fully well, and even fewer are trying to figure out how to make things right. This cold is being artificially made by game developers throughout the industry. Tecmo with Dead or Alive, Riot Games with League of Legends, Blizzard with Overwatch, and Yostar with Azur Lane.

Yet when these developers stop by the users to sell them their coats and gloves, do they ever speak of the cold? They merely tell the quality of their product and give the users a price. The users ask no questions, but the developers still push out their products and take advantage of their users ‘needs’.

What is needed to be done is someone who is outside the blizzard made by these corporations and shine sunlight through the snow. Show the loyal gamers of these companies that the fan service that they put out, should be questioned. For how long can the gaming scene stay quiet for as the gaming scene paints a picture of what is to be stunning and which to be unwanted? How long shall people let the developer pick at the wallets of their users by baiting out false fantasies created by an image that sets unfair expectations for the opposite sex?

This abuse of fantasies brings about a dynamic that has been prevalent since the times of the Romans. The Plebeian and the Patrician, the surf and the lord, the guildmaster and the journeyman, the freeman and the slave. This dynamic can be simply put as the oppressor and the oppressed. When a child requests a game and their parents purchase it for them to be a distraction while they’re busy, the child is already being molded by these game developers into a certain frame of mind. The child is lured in to a false sense of security and mostly sees beautiful and kind women, while men are of the widest variety that you may think of. How does one expect this child to establish a proper mindset?

There are many who have already fallen to this mindset and are being lead by a string by the game developers. For once they have established a grip, they release newer visuals for the user to purchase that are typically skimpier for female characters. The game developers allow for the user to build a sense of trust and attachment to these characters as they spend more and more on the game and content produced by the developer. The amount of time spent becomes questioned, and some true fanatics who have fallen prey to this idealism believe the most outrageous, that the women on their screens must be held above all else and must be protected from slander.

This is why I propose that we must rise and break the users that the game developers have entranced under their will with force. For who else will save these souls and establish a better mindset for these people? Who will light the torch and march into the blizzard and burn a fire that melts all the snow away and to become a shining beacon of light to all those for all those who see may come and gather? How else may we do this, if not without force of will and power?