Research Essay Pre- Draft

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Dulce Tepi

Far from a happily ever after; analyzing the effects of movies on young girls

As children everyone grew up watching movies. They were movies that taught valuable lessons and have been in peoples lives and memories ever since they were first watched they are the classics. But as impressionable young children how many of the lessons really made a positive impact on peoples lives. unrealistic goals were set for young girls everywhere. That they had to look a certain way and rely only on a prince to save them that it is the only way to achieve a happy ending. This could cause low self-esteem and even relationship issues in the long run. some kids even become anti-social and aggressive. Although everyone grew up on these movies and felt like there was nothing wrong with a prince saving the day in the long run it isn’t that simple.

Many parent don’t realize that the exposure to constantly watching movies and cartoons can cause their children to model the characters behaviors and even change their own personality. “Movies provide children, parents, teachers and daycare workers with a little breathing space. While the children are busy watching these movies, parents and others can complete chores, etc ” (R. Y. Langham, The Psychological Effects of Children’s movies 2013) placing a child in front of a T.V set can buy parents a couple of hours to do what they have to but at what cost ? Children tend to model figures that they admire or are constantly exposed to. So if they exposed to violent and aggressive figures odds are they the child themselves will become as aggressive. Also so much time spent in front of a T.V screen lives no time for the child to develop actual contact with a human causing the child to become antisocial. ” It is this extreme or constant attachment with television and movies that can lend itself well to depression in particular, but other mental health issues” ( R.Y Langham) as Langham states many health issues can come from constant exposure to the T.V. But health issues aren’t the only problem when it comes to movies.

As a young girl growing up to princesses and fairytales one idea is stuck in their head. To be beautiful and to find their prince charming. Movies based on fairytales cause girls to have an unrealistic take on relationships and love. They are indirectly told that the ideal way of life is to be beautiful and rely on a man. When talking about movies like “Sleeping Beauty” Castillo stated ” The problem is: What is between the lines? Aurora is described as an extraordinarily beautiful woman, so young girls will understand, even if they are not directly told, that is how they are supposed to strive to look.” (Paul Castillo, The Negative Effects of Disney on Children). Although most oft eh effects of movies seem to be more negative there is an upside to these movies.

Most of the new programing and movies recently released are extremely different from those that are older. Their messages contradict pervious ideals like striving for beauty and love and place an emphases on independence and self-realization. In movies such as “Brave” and “Frozen” the hero of the movie ended up being the main characters young independent women and not a prince. And on the other hand children seem to learn a lot of valuable skills from T.V shows “these movies can help strengthen children’s communication, language, problem-solving and coping skills. Some Disney movies can even teach children words in foreign languages.” (Langham2013)

Growing up to the classics that impacted lives over the centuries can cause plenty of negative effects on children but it can also help with education. Many of the movies people have learned to love over the years have an outdated ideal of love and beauty but they are the classics and a lot of valuable lessons were learned.

R. Y. Langham.”The Psychological Effects of Children’s movies”, Association for Natural Psychology, September 3,2014. web.November 18,2014. http://winmentalhealth.com/childrens_movies_media_effects.php

Paul Castillo. ” The Negative Effects of Disney on Children” The Sundial, December 4, 2006.web. November 16.2014 http://sundial.csun.edu/2006/12/thenegativeeffectsofdisneyonchildren/

Research project part 2 (updated version)

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Luz G.

The topic of my research project is how happiness is found more in third world countries compared to developed countries. Many people go from their home land to a well-developed country looking for ways to make more money and be more successful, these people call this the American dream. This topic is interesting to me because many people say they want to live the “American dream”, but at the same time they then want to go on vacation and/or retire somewhere else. Many people hear happiness and they turn to money, materialistic things and etc. Happiness is not just the possessions you may have, but it is more of what, other than possessions, will make you truly happy. People would fall in love with money and working and forget to give attention to their families. Many people who believe money makes an individual truly happy are the ones who wake up hating their jobs and treating others with a bad attitude. These individuals are not truly happy because they do not take the time off to relax and release stress with their families or close friends. When an individual is truly happy they will be at peace with themselves. To wake up and love what you do throughout the day, love the person oneself is, and love the people who surrounds oneself, is truly being happy. This interests me and it should interest others as well because it can teach others that happiness is achieved in the smallest matter. In the smallest matter meaning being satisfied with where and how one lives, with the job one has, and being satisfied with the people who spends time with one and etc. Individuals do not necessarily need to have the biggest house nor the newest car in the market. These things are great satisfying goods of course; but as long as an individual has supporting and caring people around them they will be happy.

Some of the resources I will be using will be a documentary movie called “happy” and a post from Forbes staff called “The Happiest (And Saddest) Countries in the World”. Both these resources are relevant to my project because it backs up my idea. Some of the questions I will be addressing are Does the “American Dream” really make people happy? What do they do that makes them happy/happier? Who are they mostly around with? Do people in 3rd world countries work harder or less than people in the U.S? Does this contribute to their happiness?

Annotated Works Cited

Christopher Helman. “The Happiest (And Saddest) Countries in the World” Forbes

C.H. 9 January, 2013 WEB

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/01/09/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2/

http://www.prosperity.com/#!/ (prosperity index)

This post talks about the different countries they have analyzed throughout the years. They use a “prosperity index” by Legatum Institute to figure out and rank the different countries in the world. This index ranks countries according to economy, health, personal freedom and etc. The index shows that small countries like (Norway) can be small and not so developed but have very happy people. It goes to show that happiness is not attained by working more hours but by having more hours with close friends and family.

Darius20190, “Developing countries much happier than first world countries” LiveLeak.

Darius0190, 31 July, 2014 WEB

This blog talks about how developing countries are happier than developed countries. It shows that people who are part of countries that are not so wealthy, tend to be happier because these individuals know more than money and materialistic possessions. “People in poor countries can find joy in the moral satisfaction that often is not available to citizens of the developed countries.” (Darius0190)

Happy directed by Roko Belic, produced by Eiji Han Shimizu, Frances Reid, Tom Shadyac, edited by Vivian Hillgrove. 2011

This documentary movie asks people from the city what being happy is to them and if they are really happy. It also questions people from third world countries (like India) if they are happy. Some interviews/ documentaries are of how people live in these countries. Also it shows what individuals do and who these individuals surround themselves with. The interviews done explores a variety of people all over the world to be able to come to the conclusion of who are happier. The movie proves how people can have nothing and still feel satisfied and happy with how they are living.

Second Research Proposal

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Dominique

As I began to think more in depth of my topic I’ll be writing about in my research project I decided to change it around a bit and find a main point to direct my topic to. The topic of just belonging needs is too broad, and cannot make an argument out of it. My topic is going to be, belonging needs: the effect of not having interpersonal relationships and how it correlates with happiness. This topic interests me because I value the healthy relationships I’ve made throughout my life so far it’s made me who I am right now and I’m evolving as a person each and everyday because of these relationships. belonging needs are a reflection of the desire to be loved have friendships and being family oriented. To be accepted by others brings fourth a great feeling of importance. If an individual has never experienced love, love may not have no value to them rather than a person who has experienced love whether in a relationship or family based are able to love others. Individuals are motivated to keep these relationships because it has great value to them (satisfying that need). Interpersonal relationships are needed in order to grow as an individual. Happiness has a different meaning to every individual, every individual has different things that brings them happiness. The key to happiness are the bonds and close relationships that are made between an individual and others . Everyone deserves to feel like their accepted, loved, and that their important in an individual’s life. The need to belong increases satisfaction in personal relationships well-being and happiness. Think about the clothing you have on your back the shoes on your feet without the help of others such as the job you have in order to get the things you desire it wouldn’t be possible without interpersonal relationships, and you being of importance to the job you’ve acquired. Belonging helps us as humans to survive in the world which dates bck to the Neolithic age, individuals worked together in order to survive for example women were gatherers while men hunted animals. Humans wouldn’t be what they are today without belonging needs everyone needs someone.

Annotated bibliography:

http://www.saywhydoi.com/belonging-why-do-we-need-a-sense-of-belonging/

The article, “Belonging: Why do we need a sense of belonging” by Li-Or, serves importance to my topic because it breaks down the question; Why do we need a sense of belonging?. How does belonging shape us a humans and gives me a new outlook on my topic. The article asks a variety of question relevant to my research project and gives thorough explanation of them all. Explaining why belonging needs are so important in order for and humans to get what they need and for them evolve. Li-Or states, ” This is one of the reasons people seek to spend time bonding with family, friends, hobby-buddies, sports fans, and religious congregations.Individuals seek relationships with others to be accepted and discover who they are as a person and have others support.

http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2012/4/16/the-need-to-belong-part-of-what-makes-us-human.html

This article explains why humans are so motivated to have close relationships, close relationships are part of what makes us human. Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary explains thoroughly their hypothesis belongingness point by point in the article main points such as forming social bonds, Not breaking bonds, Cognition, Emotional high and lows, Consequences of deprivation, Partial deprivation, and Satiation and substitution. Individuals feel the need to be close connected to others being caring and affectionate “close relationships are major part of human behavior.

https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/projects/student-retention-project/dissemination/papers-and-publications/Sense%20of%20Belonging%20Lit%20Review.docx

This word document illustrated the history of background belonging needs in society. Making to many point in society such as the sense of belonging amongst students,sense of belonging and student persistence. Belonging needs are referred to as the need for affection between individuals. Deci & Ryan suggests, ” the need for relatedness ecompasses a persons striving to relate to and care for others, to feel that those others are relating authentically to ones self, and care for others”. The sense of belonging in society is very important for the connections between humans bonds and close relationships rhat are developed brings out a positive healthy relationship as well as happiness. Each relationship an individual makes helps them develope who they are

How music affects teenagers behavior towards society

Posted on November 13, 2014 by TinikaW

After a lot of thought and brainstorming I finally came to a decision that I wanted to my topic to be on something to about music. I knew it had to be really specific and precise so I continued to think about what area would I like to learn more about that has to deal with music. As I was on my way home a couple of days ago I saw a group of teenagers listening to rap music and they were behaving in a crazy and somewhat hostile manner. I then thought to myself I should research how music affects teenagers behavior towards society. sometimes music can have a bad or a good influence on people especially teenagers. In high school my friends were always listening to music and would go around saying quotes from the songs. For example Chris Brown wrote a song about females not being loyal, ever since then boys or guys would go around saying that girls aren’t loyal so don’t trust them.

When you look around most of the time when you see teenagers they are always listening to music. Everyone of them having their own personal preference of what style of music they like. Some of them you see are dressed in all black and listening to goth and others you may see are dressed with snap backs, Jordans and white tees listening to rap.

“How Music Affects Teens.” Teen Ink. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

After I finally figured out what I wanted my topic to be I started to do some research. It honestly didn’t take me much time to find article or website that I liked because I went through the first couple of them I found interest in this one. This article talks about how certain music can define who a person is. It says that you can tell a person’s mood by the type of music that they are listening too. I agree with that because when I’m sad I don’t listen to songs that would make me dance but I listen to songs that are slow and depressing. What I mainly love about this article is that it says, teens hangout or cling to other teens who like the same style music as them. That is also true because you would hardly see a person who likes country music hanging out with somebody who likes rock. It’s not something that is done on purpose but it’s something that is done naturally. They wouldn’t do that because like article also states teens would always be disagreeing with watch genre of music is right or what genre music is wrong. As teens they may not know how to really express themselves in the right way at times. I know when I was a teen I always listened to music that had a con ection to my mood. If I was in a mood where I didn’t want to talk to anyone I would listen to rap music so loud that you wouldn’t be able to hear yourself talk. The article mentions that music helps teens show emotions and express there feelings in way they sometimes can’t so by themselves. This article was a little short but gave me a basic outlook on my topic. I feel that from here on I will find even more interesting articles about my topic.

The importance of a support system

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Natasha

Choosing a topic was extremely difficult. I didn’t know where or how to start. I knew it had to be related to happiness and well-being but I couldn’t think of anything in specific that related. Therefore, I chose to go backwards and research the opposite of happiness which is death. In my research paper I want to focus on young adults so I researched the top 5 reasons of suicide in teenage years. I found out that overall teenagers that commit suicide are depress for a long time. Some reasons of suicide are because they do not have the support they need from their parents or guardian at a young age, low self-esteem, struggling with sexual orientation, drug abuse, and much more. Putting all of these reasons together I came to the conclusion that the lack of a support system in their life has a huge effect on their outcome in life. Without a support system of adults in their life they will also lack the knowledge of problem solving. Problem solving could be extremely beneficial in an individual’s life because the individual will know how to overcome the obstacle without bring themselves down and stressing over it.

Since most young adults without a support system lack good problem solving they will tend to deal and mask their problems momentarily with the use of drugs. The use of drugs is an easy and fast way out of the stress or problems going on in an individual’s life. Most adults that consume and are addicted to drugs have started to use them from a young age making it hard to quit. For my research paper I wanted to talk about teenagers masking their problems with drugs and feeling at ease for the time they are drugged up but how it affects their well-being in their future. Also how much more beneficial it would it be if teenagers had more support and more knowledge on how to deal with obstacles without the use of drugs. The more a teenager is hooked on a drug the harder it will be for the individual to grow as a person and the harder it will be to progress in life because drugs are like a time capsule is stops the crave to be better and to develop.

Annotated Source:

“Get Informed.” Teen Suicides: What Are the Risk Factors? N.p., n.d. Web. 12

Nov. 2014.

This article mentions the top reasons why young individuals commit suicide at such a young age. Most of the teenagers that commit suicide is because they do not have the support they need to grow up and mature to the point they are self-sufficient. Also the overwhelming and obstacles these teenagers go through are hard to deal alone. Therefore, since they do not have anyone to guide them they tend to use drugs to mask their stress of not being able to overcome their daily obstacles. The drugs that are being consumed make the individual feel at ease for that moment that once the drug effects go away they will crave more which will eventually lead to a drug addiction. This article also mentions ways that young adults could prevent suicide just has communicating better with others, better problem solving, more restrictions to drug access, and more access to clinics that could help them become self-sufficient in their future.

Happiness Research Project on Different Countries

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Luz G.

The topic of my research project is happiness in different countries. This topic is interesting to me because many people say they want to live the “American dream”, but at the same time they then want to go on vacation and/or retire somewhere else. Many people hear happiness and they turn to money, materialistic things and etc. Happiness is not just the possessions you may have, but it is more of what, other than possessions, will make you truly happy. This interests me and it should interest others as well because it can teach others that happiness is achieved in the smallest matter. Individuals do not necessarily need to have the biggest house nor the newest car in the market. These things are great satisfying goods of course; but as long as an individual have supporting and caring people around them they will be happy. Some of the questions I will be addressing are Does the “American Dream” really make people happy? What do they do that makes them happy/happier? Who are they mostly around with ? Do people in 3rd world countries work harder or less than people in the U.S? Does this contribute to their happiness?

Annotated Resource:

Happy directed by Roko Belic (2011)

This documantary movie shows peoples lives in different 3rd world countries. It then shows peoples lives in the U.S and Japan wich are busy developed countries. It compares the peoples experience and life style and how happy they are. The video shows how people can have nothing and still feel satisfied and happy with how they are living.

i love you babe

Relaxing happy place

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Luz G.

Like many others I have many places I love being in. My room, boyfriends arms, my house, under a warm and soft blanky etc. but I can say my favorite happy place would be in 176 riverside. This is my happy place because like all other things I enjoy this place sums it up. I could come here alone or accompinied. The view is amazing and it helps me remain calm and collective. This place has the tendecy to relieve my stress and help me make important decisions in life. Just sitting and looking at the beautiful view helps me breath and sort out all of my thoughts to figure out what i will do next. In a bad or good day i like to admire the beautiful view.

Keep Up with Your Happiness Apps

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Luz G.

I’ve tried to track many things in life; time, periods, appointments etc. but never my mood or happiness. But hey its possible. After a couple days with three different mood trackers I found some good qualities that these apps hold. The obvious is that the apps asks you how do you feel throughout the day. It would ask a couple questions about the mood you are in currently. Most apps ask with who you are and what you are doing as well.

Something i enjoyed about the app is the constant reminders throughout the day. This is because it almost feels as if someone actually cares to ask about them. ll Also that it is people friendly. When i say this i mean that the app ask questions in a nice way.

There’s an app for that

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Dulce Tepi

Thought out the last few year technology has evolved to an everyday necessity. With apps, social media and the internet in general life it at your finger tips. Anything you can possibly imagine or want is just a few clicks away. You can basically get anything from a pizza to a life coach over a screen. With technology at its peek it’s only logical that happiness is also a click away.

Websites like happier or happify use a social media approach to bring happiness to its users. They both offer activities like games, life tips and articles. Happier also promotes it’s scientific approach to the methods they teach and constantly mentions how it’s forever free but with a $10 subscription a few added features are avaliable. Happify on the other hand ptomotes that their methods are used to train you brain to build skills for lasting happiness. Both websites use a step by step approach to tech their users well being and happiness.

While I was exploring the website for the world well-being project it found it interesting how they were able to collect such data that we tend to ignor. Social networks use trends/hashtags to categorize specific topics. But for the most part we aren’t aware of how positive or negative things we say on line are kept forever. Being able to see a cluster of word like that is really eye opening. Especially the difference between genders the topics are actually kind of funny to see.

Response to The Secret & Paradise Parodise

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Tanaye

In class we watched the video “ The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne and watched the parodies about the secret to our happiness and the law of attraction. I thought the film was interesting and engaging but I think it was based more on opinions then facts, because although she was having experts come in and tell us why we think and feel the way we do. We never had a chance for her to exactly say why she feel that we attract what we think of most and she thinks we control our own happiness. She had more visionary, authors and more people helping her opinion be more convincible but I didn’t agree with her statement because I do think we can measure our happiness because if we don’t like how certain things are going whether it is with school, work, relationships you can fix it so we wont be unhappy or feel a certain way.

The parodies I thought didm’t make sense and they were trying to be funny rather than make it convincible for the watchers because I honestly was confused while watching them , but the “ The secret “ I understood it very well and the point they were trying to prove in the video because it reminded me of a philosophers I learned in high school who were ancient Greeks and Romans which was meant to make people happier by teaching them to control their negative emotions and stated “ dont get mad over things you can’t control “ which Byrne is saying that thoughts become things and when we have these thoughts we want certain things, but can’t get it for some reason, for example when it’s raining and you don’t want it to rain you cannot be mad because we can’t control the weather. Therefore this connects to what Byrne is saying because she thinks that what we think is in our future and our thoughts and feelings is what we attract because its what we are thinking. Although that can be somewhat true but not a fact because everyone thinks about different things.

Also the authors discuss that what we think now is creating our future, which I dont agree with because we think a lot and we have a lot of thoughts going on in our mind that we can’t control, for example we can hate a person so much and wish not to think about them or have feelings for them, but we cant control what I mind thinks because in our hearts we care for the person. However I understood Byrne point but it needs to be more accurate for viewers to agree then disagree because instead of having visionaries and authors make her point believable she should speak to readers to make it clear for viewers.

The Composition of Happiness

ENG 1101 / HUS 1101 Learning Community (Fall 2014)

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