WilliamsPortfolio.
Author: jevon
Immigration
Intro:
The goal of Trump’s immigration policies is to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants in the country. Almost a quarter of Americans view immigration as the most important problem facing the country. Though people throughout the country remain fiercely divided in their views on immigration, they are united in their growing preoccupation with it. I chose an email as my genre because it’s a more engaging way of communicating with my audience about the issues. It’s an essential part of communication today.
To: Asylum Seekers
From: Jevon Williams
Subject: Immigration
Dear: Asylum Seekers/Refugees
Asylum seekers face increasing obstacles, which some see as deliberate. The stakes could hardly be higher for immigrants who seek asylum in the U.S. out of fear of being tortured, killed or otherwise persecuted if they are forced to return to their home countries. Like refugees, people eligible for asylum cannot remain in their home countries due to a well-founded fear of persecution for their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. But instead of being pre-approved for admission before they travel to the U.S., asylum seekers apply for the status when they are already in the country or seeking admission at a port of entry. Applying for asylum has never been easy. Immigrants aren’t provided with attorneys to represent them during the complicated process and often suffer from trauma-related mental health issues.
There are many challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers. Some will have spent many years in refugee camps or have spent time in detention. Often they have had little or no healthcare access, either in their country of origin or in the country they subsequently fled to, an experience shown to have negative health outcomes. Many will have come from low-income countries, with high prevalence of diseases such as TB, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B. Asylum seekers and refugees have also lost their housing, income and position in society, employment, social support systems, cultural norms, religious customs and language. Many will have suffered psychological trauma through the death or separation of family. They may not know the whereabouts of family or friends, or even if they are alive.
High priority conditions for refugees and immigrants have been found to be abuse and domestic violence, anxiety and adjustment disorder, depression, diabetes, torture and PTSD, intestinal parasites, and dental caries. Some refugees are educated middle-class people, where higher rates of obesity, hypertension, coronary artery disease, diabetes and anaemia have been found. Asylum seekers and /or refugees may therefore suffer from both long and short- term health sequelae. This could be in the form of increased risk of mental illness, PTSD, anxiety and depression or complicated grief. Psychological distress may also be increased if their immigration status is uncertain. Those who have been subjected to torture may also have ongoing medical conditions, disabilities and pain.
One reason there are so many undocumented immigrants is that it’s so difficult to immigrate with authorization. There are 150 million people on immigration waiting lists. Almost 4 million people would leave their country if they could and move to the United States. Immigrants have driven two-thirds of U.S. economic growth since 2011. They founded 30% U.S. firms, including more than 50% of startups valued at over $1 billion.
Although they’ve helped the economy overall, the benefit is largely in certain industries. The Trump administration wants to eliminate the appeals process for asylum seekers. Instead, it wants to criminally charge anyone who shows up at the border without documentation. It also briefly separated children from their parents to discourage other undocumented immigrants. Immigrants with advanced degrees gravitate toward scientific and technical jobs that don’t require high communication. Newly arrived immigrants have one thing in common that reduces their ability to compete with native-born workers. They generally don’t speak English as well. That means they are less likely to take jobs that require strong communication skills. For example, natives in management and media don’t face a lot of competition from newly arrived immigrants.
Immigration has a negative effect on workers without a college degree. That’s especially true in agriculture and construction. In 2014, immigrants held 43% of agricultural jobs. 20% were documented, according to the Pew Research Center. In building and grounds maintenance, 35% of the jobs were taken by immigrants. 19% were documented. In construction, 27% of the jobs went to immigrants, and 12% were documented. What hurts some workers helps consumers. Immigrants lower the price of goods and services for everyone. That’s because they provide low-cost labor that allows companies to reduce the prices of consumer goods. In those industries, immigration lowers wages and drive out native-born workers in those areas. That pushes native-born workers into jobs like sales and personal services that require superior communication skills.
Best Regards,
Jevon Williams
To: Refugees
From: Jevon Williams
Subject: Immigration
Dear Refugees,
Refugees have a lawful right to enter a country for the purposes of seeking asylum, regardless of how they arrive or whether they hold valid travel or identity documents. Asylum seekers and refugees will differ in their country of origin, their reasons for leaving, their socio-economic status and healthcare needs. There are many reasons why people flee their home country. Some will have been exposed to violence, threats, conflict, natural disasters, war or political instability. They may have been subject to human rights violations such as torture (physical or psychological), rape or persecution.
Some of the issues refugees face are difficulty speaking and learning English, raising children and helping them succeed in school, securing work, securing housing, accessing services, transportation, and cultural barriers. Many refugees and immigrants take ESL classes, but finding the time between jobs and caring for kids can be difficult. Especially difficult if you weren’t literate in your native tongue to begin with. One of the biggest obstacles refugees and immigrant parents report is raising their children in a new, unfamiliar culture. Parents often find that their children are quickly “Americanized,” which may be at odds with their own culture. Additionally, kids tend to pick up English much faster than their parents. This throws off the parent-child dynamic, and you know that kids, especially teens, are going to use this to their advantage.
With regards to school, parents often feel disappointed to see their children struggling to keep up in class, and many parents report bullying and discrimination as a result of cultural differences. Kids are often placed by their age rather than by their ability, and for those who are unable to speak English, it’s virtually impossible to keep up. To add further insult to injury, parents may not have the education or language skills to assist their children, and they may not be able to communicate with faculty to address the problem.
While most refugees and immigrants are happy to take whatever job is available when they first enter the country, finding a job, and slowly moving up the ladder, is incredibly difficult. Even if you ignore undocumented immigrants who face additional challenges securing work, trouble speaking English is a major problem in positions you might not expect like labor. Refugees and immigrants who are educated and who formerly had strong jobs back home, find it frustrating that they can’t obtain the same jobs here. Employers typically prefer work experience within the US, and certifications outside of the US usually don’t transfer. That’s why it’s not uncommon for your taxi driver to have formerly worked as an educator or engineer.
Additionally, refugees and immigrants are easy victims for discrimination and exploitation in the workplace. Some employers recognize the sense of urgency and desperation among these groups to keep their jobs, so they will have them take the less desirable and even dangerous roles. Undocumented immigrants, particularly, assume they have no rights, and workers who can’t speak English are easy targets.
Many will find it difficult to adjust to life in a new country after a prolonged period as a refugee. They may also face hostility when trying to re-settle into new communities. Loneliness and grief are often key issues. Safe Third Country agreements were created to make it possible for countries to share the responsibility of aiding asylum seekers. In 1991, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees invited such agreements to foster international cooperation.
Best Regards,
Jevon Williams
References:
Nunez, Christiana. “The 7 biggest challenges facing refugees and immigrants in the US”. Globalcitizen , https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-7-biggest-challenges-facing-refugees-and-immig/
Connolly, Daniel. Montes, Aaron. Villagran, Lauren. “Asylum seekers in US face years of waiting, little chance of winning their cases”. USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2019/09/23/immigration-court-asylum-seekers-what-to-expect/2026541001/ Sep. 25, 2019
“Refugees and Asylum Seekers”. Caresearch. https://www.caresearch.com.au/caresearch/tabid/2385/Default.aspx
Benevento, Maria. “Asylum seekers face increasing obstacles, which some see as deliberate”. Ncronline. https://www.ncronline.org/news/justice/asylum-seekers-face-increasing-obstacles-which-some-see-deliberate Apr 26, 2018
Amaded, Kimberly. “Immigration’s Effect on the Economy and You”. Thebalance. https://www.thebalance.com/how-immigration-impacts-the-economy-4125413
October 16, 2019
Reflection: Annotated Bibliography
Jevon Williams
ENG 1101
Reflection
- My chosen genre was indie films. I selected six articles that describes the experience of distribution and marketing in the indie film industry. The authors attitude in the articles is considered astonishment and concerned. This harmless attitude further illustrates the problem with businesses in the film industry. Its important to the authors that they set an example of a working filmmaker. As much as producing is hard, it’s also incredibly rewarding. The society has refuted the fact that there is a wealth of amazing talent out there. From what the authors explains in the articles – Today’s new media giants are embracing the independent film but as a marketing concept only; every day they bring more and more of the production, distribution and exhibition apparatus under their control. Throughout the articles, distributors are pictured like saints, harmless to none but film makers. Whatever your budget is as a film maker, double it.
- I learned that any short film that is promoted as being done “on a budget of $0” is lying and being a producer is hard. It can take years for an indie film to be completed. Everything costs money and finding those finances can be tricky and time-consuming. For any product that we use in this life, it has to go through a number of processes namely extraction, where raw materials are harvested from mother nature, then production, where the raw materials are converted into a form that will satisfy a particular human need, to distribution, where the finished product is taken to where it is needed, consumption, where the person with the need utilizes the product to satisfy his need and finally to disposal, where the remains of the consumed product is done away with. No amount of money can buy you a good finished product. It always takes sweat equity. I can either a be a producer or a consumer, though I could be both in the sense that I could be producing and consuming the same product or producing one product and using it while buying other products that I am not producing so as to cater for my varying needs. A feature film should never be made unless you love your concept so much, that you are willing to live with it for the next few years.
- Is there a new trend in film you can add to the filming or story?
Will shooting the whole film on a smartphone help draw an audience or financial backer? - I feel that I need to constantly reflect and remind myself about concerning opinions and information. I like to think of myself as an analytic when it comes to dissecting a text or essay. I’m really good at identifying main points, details, and concrete evidence in readings. I am confident in these areas of my progress, but im not very good at constructive criticism and giving opinion-based analysis. For example, whenever I need to tell how the author does something I usually just give a summary of what he talks about.
Annotated Bibliography
Jevon Williams
Annotated Bibliography
ENG 1101
Hope,Ted . “Indie Film Is Dead”, Filmmaker Magazine, Fall 1995
Hope is co-president of New York’s production company Good Machine and, along with his partner James Schamus, has produced or executive produced such films as The Brothers McMullen, Safe, and The Wedding Banquet. Hope also produces Hal Hartley’s films, including his new Flirt. Ted Hope shares his opinions by lamenting the downside of today’s indie film scene. Hope’s candid diagnosis prompted Schamus, who is currently adapting Rick Moody’s novel The Ice Storm for Ang Lee, to pen a piece of his own, a reply which amplifies the terms of Hope’s argument. The article then goes on to argue why the success of indie films today aren’t authentic. In Hope’s argument, he states that the marketplace is ‘nasty and brutal’ and follows by explaining how it has effected unique films. Hope recognizes this is a problem and prompts an urgency about the future of indie films. Hope further discusses the reality of todays’ problem with businesses in the film industry- Today’s new media giants are embracing the independent film but as a marketing concept only; every day they bring more and more of the production, distribution and exhibition apparatus under their control.
O’Falt, Chris. “How Do Independent Filmmakers Make a Living? 20 BAM cinema Fest Directors on Day Jobs That Pay the Bills”, Indie Wire, 22 Jun. 2019
An article about day jobs for indie filmmakers where all the jobs are also working on film, or commercial-BAM directors share how they make ends meet when they aren’t making personal films. Rashaad Ernesto Green states, ‘When I’m not making an independent film, I direct episodes of television to pay the bills.’ Rodney Evans: When I am not immersed in filmmaking I teach introductory and advanced film production courses and screenwriting in the Film and Media Studies Department at Swarthmore College just outside of Philadelphia. The commute from Brooklyn can sometimes be a challenge, but the students at Swarthmore are sharp, passionate and deeply engaged with the art of filmmaking and the cultural and sociopolitical issues in the world around them. Since I have been there for the last four years there has been a marked increase in the number of students of color and LGBT+ students taking production and screenwriting courses. Sometimes all it takes is for a student to see someone that belongs to the same demographic as they do and showing work that reflects their experience for them to think about filmmaking as a valid career option. It’s also important that they see me as an example of a teaching artist/working filmmaker making only work that I care deeply about and control from idea to completion.
DE PABLOS, EMILIANO. “Top supplier accords give distributor edge.” Variety, 13 Dec. 1999, p. 94. Gale Academic
The motor driving Lauren Films’ growth has been distribution. Since 1979, the company, the distribution division of the Lauren Group, has released more than 600 films in Spain, making it unquestionably Spain’s most important indie distribution over the last 20 years. Lauren speaks on her success by crediting multiple “pillars”, and explains her experience. “To survive in the Spanish market, a company needs at least two sources of different product,” says CEO Antonio Llorens. “As an indie, we don’t have access to products like ‘Wild Wild West’ so we look for a range of titles from…”. Lauren has played off important multititle and multiyear distribution accords. These multi pic accords has allowed Lauren to lead the pack of indie distributions since 1985. A crucial local factor has been Lauren’s ownership of cinemas, which has permitted the company to nurse titles at its own sites until word of mouth has kicked into gear. “These films wouldn’t have made so much money if they hadn’t been in my cinemas,” Llorens modestly comments. Lauren’s high-profile, multi pic deals naturally involve high payments, hence, risk. Accessing top product allows Lauren to benefit from a competitive Spanish TV market, enriched first in 1990 by the launch of two free-to-air commercial nets — Antena 3 TV and Tele 5 — plus pay service Canal Plus Spain and two digital operators in 1997, Sogecable’s CanalSatelite Digital and Telefonica’s Via Digital.
Cieply, Michael, “A Rebuilding Phase for Independent Film”, New York Times, 25 April 2010
For more than a decade, the indie film movement centered in New York flourished, at times almost eclipsing the output of the mainstream Hollywood studios in terms of impact and accolades. But the financial collapse and the credit crisis had a deep impact on all of the movie world, which has responded with fewer expensive releases and safer bets. The struggling indie scene is getting a boost from fleet-footed, penny-pinching guerrilla operations that are trying to resuscitate the business by spending less on production, much less on marketing and embracing all forms of distribution, including the local art house and the laptop. Indie experiments are being closely watched in the business because what happens in Hollywood often first happens in New York City. According to Mr. Weinstein and others, the New York-centered independent film world faltered largely because companies, flush with cash from a DVD boom that has since played out, put too much money behind too many films for an audience that was never large enough to absorb them in theaters. Independent distributors that survived the great shakeout include Focus Features, a Universal Studios unit that is anchored in Manhattan, and Sony Pictures Classics, a specialty film label based in New York that has consistently released about 20 movies a year with a staff of just 25.
D’Alessandro, Anthony “Does The Success Of Streaming Signal The Death Of Indie Cinema? – Sundance”, Deadline 24 Jan 2019
The success of Netflix’s Roma this Oscar season with ten nominations has some traditional film distributors worried sick that the streaming service’s theatrical/SVOD release model will ultimately spell the death of indie cinema. Their concern: No longer is a lengthy theatrical release needed for an independent movie seeking an Oscar. This has been an unfortunate several years for independent films, as the major studios shut down their indie distribution labels and focus on blockbuster material for the global market. The avenue for indie films gaining wide recognition is narrowing. “Films can be the antidote or a reprieve from things we disagree with,” says NEON boss Tom Quinn about the the theatrical experience. “It’s the only communal experience outside of going to church.” In sum, streaming hasn’t killed the indie cinema star, it’s only expanded the independent cinema marketplace. There are those in indie circles who praise Netflix: They are making and releasing movies that otherwise would not have gotten made by a mainstream distributor. “What the success of Roma does show is that that Harvey Weinstein way of Oscar campaigning works with Netflix movies,” says one independent studio cappo about the streaming giant’s reported $20M-plus awards season campaign spend on the film. Another reason for the slowdown in indie fare goes back to the age-old excuse of product. “I’m not scared right now and I believe in the theatrical business and the basic principles why theaters were formed initially and that still holds,” says League.
KELLY, BRENDAN. “Canadian market remains risky.” Variety, 21 Feb. 2000, p. S30. Gale Academic
Distributing independent films in Canada remains, at best, a high-risk venture, and things aren’t getting any easier. Indie distribution is tough everywhere in the world, but the odds are even tougher in Canada compared to most other countries outside the U.S. because of the proximity to the powerful American market. The Hollywood majors tend to release their pics the same day in the U.S. and Canada, which allows the Canadian promotion campaign to take full advantage of all the media coverage south of the border. There are not a lot of strong independent film-distribution players in Canada, with the notable exception of Alliance Atlantis Releasing, which handily dominates the indie market in the country. The Toronto-based distributor released more than 90 pics theatrically last year and grossed more than C$100 million ($69 million) at the box office, ranking it second nationally behind Buena Vista. The other independent players in Canada handle fewer films than Alliance Atlantis and have to struggle for market share. One of the new aggressive companies on the scene is Blackwatch Releasing, a Montreal producer and distributor that has output deals with Sony Pictures Classics, Trimark and the Shooting Gallery. “It is still a tough market because distribution expenses have been going up, advertising costs have been going up, we’re paying bigger minimum guarantees and there are not a lot of films that pop out,” says Yves Dion, president of Blackwatch Releasing. Snaring quality titles for theatrical release is the biggest dilemma for distributors without the output deals, says Stephen Greenberg, president of distribution at Motion Intl. of Montreal. “It’s a continual challenge,” says Greenberg.
How to write about music
Jevon Williams
ENG 1101
Rhetorical Analysis
Music writing is something that can not be taught, so it is a pointless exercise in a way to write a book called How to Write About Music.However, while you can’t teach anyone how to write beautiful prose about this melodic art form, you can encourage, shape and structure lessons to empower the reader to write about music. As Rick Moody states in his timely foreword to the book: “The lack of a dominant template is one of the many similarities between the music writing of the seventies, let’s say, and the music writing of our own time, is the lack of a prevailing format.”
He’s Right! There are hundreds of magazines in the twenty-first century, thousands of music blogs, YouTube channels, journals, etc. all clamoring for well-written articles, think pieces and musings on popular and not – so-popular music.
If writing for a blog, there are no more rigid word count restrictions; the possibilities are endless and it’s intimidating. Yet while the way we listen to and consume music has changed so much, an album’s basic concept remains the same.The exercise of defining and praising an album is therefore still a very true and sought-after method of writing music. Reviewing an album is not an easy task.
“The critic both uses and is sometimes blind to his prejudices and ideals – the more you know about yourself and how you process what you’re writing and given that self-knowledge, the better … Don’t write as someone who doesn’t care about what you care about.”
Navigating Writing
Jevon Williams
ENG 1101
Navigating Writing
Throughout my early education, my literacy classes always had inspired me. However, I grew up not reading many books, newspapers, or articles. I believe reading is one of the most important aspects of education. Students that can’t read effectively fail to grasp important concepts. As an adult, I’ve acquired reading and writing skills that allow me to seek out information.
In a way, reading was and, still is, an integral part of my life. My mother would always press my younger sibling and I about the importance of reading more often. I never read a lot during my childhood and, even now, I don’t read many books or newspaper. The first time I realized how interesting writing was in the 4th grade. My teacher, every marking period, would make us choose a book to read from the class’s reading bookshelf. At the end of the marking period, we would have to write about it and a creative story to go along with it.
On its surface, Mark Twain’s the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a straightforward story about a boy and a runaway slave floating down the Mississippi River. But underneath, the book—which was published in the U.S. on February 18, 1885—is a subversive confrontation of slavery and racism. Huck, who grows up in the South before the Civil War, not only accepts slavery, but believes that helping Jim run away is a sin. The moral climax of the novel is when Huck debates whether to send Jim’s owner a letter detailing Jim’s whereabouts. Finally, Huck says, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell,” and tears the letter up.
After I chose the book I was going to read, the teacher handed out little “receipts” to everyone, so that when the marking period ended, the books we returned would be recognized as original by her. When school ended, I took the book home and read 4-5 pages a week. In the beginning, I had no idea what I was getting into. Before reading huckleberry finn, I’d often read short stories and little articles in the newspaper whenever I felt like it. This book marked the start of my fascination with writing.
I wasn’t a scholar of English or literature, but even I could tell, just from the first few pages I read that this book was well written. It wasn’t easy trying to read unfamiliar words, sentence structures, and more while simultaneously writing. As I struggled to read this in different environments, I began to get distracted, so I just started writing whatever stuck in my head on paper. My job was to only write a 1-page report on the book, so I just focused on key points and major details. I had no intention of reading the entire book, so this was a win for me.
After my job was accomplished, I put my report in a folder until the marking period was over. I spent 3 months on the report, leaving only the creative story to do. The creative story was optional and was more of a free write to help us develop our writing skills. I didn’t realize it at first, but there was more to reading than just reading. You are reading to learn about writing.
When I returned to school, I compared my report with those who also had finished early. Some of the other students’ reports were 2 -4 pages long. I was kind of confused about it, so I just assumed they had more to read than I did. Then they explained to me that they read more so they wrote more. I decided to read more about HuckleBerry Finn, and eventually finished the book. I revised my report and did a creative story to go with it. A week before the marking period ended, everyone submitted their reports and returned their books to the bookshelf. When the marking period did end, all our reports were graded, and I got the 5th highest score in the class.
Personal Experience
Jevon Williams.
ENG 1101
Throughout my early education, my literacy classes always had inspired me. Learning to read was easy for me because of the quality of teaching I had over me as well as a lot of help from home with my parents and younger sibling. I believe reading is one of the most important aspects of education. Reading and writing are related in many ways. And, though teachers can take advantage of these relationships in ways that can improve achievement, doing that would be very difficult and inefficient when taught separately It is the foundation for all other knowledge to be absorbed. To me, the first step to a successful education and life is learning to read. After that goal is accomplished, finding a way to really enjoy reading is another important factor in education.
The first time I realized how interesting writing was in the 4th grade. My teacher, every marking period, would make us choose a book to read from the class’s reading book shelf. At the end of the marking period, we would have to write about it and a creative story to go along with it. To me, this wasn’t your everyday school activity. It was a time to be completely creative and find a voice within the classroom. Finally, I was able to stand out on my own ideas amongst the other monotone lessons. Writing isn’t like other subjects. Research shows that reading and writing are closely aligned. That is, reading and writing depend upon many of the same skills, strategies, and knowledge — though those are deployed in different ways in reading and writing. In fact, about 70% of the variation in reading and writing abilities are shared.
Unit 1 Assignments Part 1
Unit 1 Assignments Part 1
Annotate “Mother Tongue”
- “I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language — the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth.”
Learning to speak in the mother tongue is very important for a child’s overall development. Being fluent in the mother tongue, which is also known as the native language, benefits the child in many ways. It connects him to his culture, ensures better cognitive development, and aids in the learning of other languages.
- “The intersection of memory upon imagination” and “There is an aspect of my fiction that relates to thus-and-thus’–a speech filled with carefully wrought grammatical phrases, burdened, it suddenly seemed to me, with nominalized forms, past perfect tenses, conditional phrases, all the forms of standard English that I had learned in school and through books, the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother.
A child’s first comprehension of the world around him, the learning of concepts and skills, starts with the language that is first taught to him. She uses her own way, which is writing, to make a bridge between these two cultures, because she thinks that language has power that we can’t imagine. Mother language has such an important role in framing our thinking and emotions.
- “The nature of the talk was about my writing, my life, and my book, The Joy Luck Club. The talk was going along well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong.”
Mother language has a very powerful impact in the formation of the individual. Our first language, the beautiful sounds which one hears and gets familiar with before being born while in the womb, has such an important role in shaping our thoughts and emotions. A child’s psychological and personality development will depend upon what has been conveyed through the mother tongue.
- “Just last week, I was walking down the street with my mother, and I again found myself conscious of the English I was using, the English I do use with her. We were talking about the price of new and used furniture and I heard myself saying this: “Not waste money that way.”
Tan is very attached to her mother’s English to the point that she doesn’t want to refer to it as “broken.” To her it symbolizes home because it’s the English she grew up with. She says it provides imagery and emotions that standard, grammatically correct English cannot.
Mother Tongue is about the authors struggles with her linguistic identity, her mother’s “fractured” or “broken” variation of english and the relationship with her mother. At the beginning of the piece we are told about the different types of english she would speak with her mother and with everyone else; we are then told how english wasn’t Amy’s strongest subject and later on we are told about the difficulties her mother experienced because of the way she spoke english and the prejudice she faced.
Tan talks about a few different types of English and in what situations she uses them, but each English form symbolizes something different to her. From my initial experiences and interactions with adults, I began to read words, processing letter-sound relations and acquiring substantial knowledge of the alphabetic system. As I continued to learn, I increasingly consolidated this information into patterns that allow for automaticity and fluency in reading and writing.
