Post 4, Group B: Traditions; The Lottery

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson got published in 1948. The story takes place in a small village right in the square of town on June 27th. The author, Shirley Jackson does not use much emotion in writing to show how the act that’s going on is looking at as usual. This story is about a village that has a lottery once a year to choose which people in town should be the sacrificed so that the people will have a full year of growing crops. Shirley Jackson has many messages about human nature in this short story but the most of all, she conveys how cruel and violent people can be to one another by killing others for no good reason. The villagers’ blind acceptance of the lottery has allowed ritual murder to become part of their town fabric. Another very significant message that Shirley conveys is how custom and tradition can hold great power over people. For me, I would say this whole tradition of human sacrifice over a lottery is a crazy and a stupid tradition. Just because something is tradition, doesn’t mean it’s right or healthy.

What bothers me, is that no one speaks up for themselves and telling that doing this whole lottery thing is a bad idea and there is God up in heaven who is not happy for the town people’s action. For example, Shirley Jackson demonstrates how the lottery could make anybody do horrible things to other people, and everyone thinks of it as ordinary. 

In The Lottery, the old man Warner states, “Pack of crazy fools,” he said. “Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody works anymore, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon. The first thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed, chickweed, and acorns. There's always been a lottery” (4). What the old man was saying, is that through a loss of traditions of the lottery, the people in town have not only become fools but they have lost their wisdom, and they are not very bright. Everyone will go with it because it’s in fact tradition. I would say to go against tradition would be to go against the community, so no one is willing to do that.

The Lottery combines elements of horror, irony, domestic tranquility, and convention in traditions. I feel like the entire process of the lottery is inherently unfair, unjust, unthinkable. Its ritual, formally grounded in longtime culture, not just in the village but elsewhere, and does not mask the mindless evil of the act. I mean, are any justice in a community? What happened, to those times when people are taught to learn how to build a better society? That’s the part that the village people don’t understand, creating a better community is not about strict traditions or human sacrifice, it’s about how you put an effort to make functional changes. For example, you help your neighbors, the fundings, the donations, and to ensure that a community can be a great place to live where everyone can be happy, not full of sacrifice.   

Cited:

Https://Sites.middlebury.edu/Individualandthesociety/Files/2010/09/jackson_lottery.Pdf.

Bonus 7: Gun Control & Running for Office

The question is, will gun control change soon? I would say it depends on changing the firearms politic. The nation’s fragile gun violence will need to organize and steadily arouse core constituencies such as women, faith leaders, and law enforcement officers. And they must raise new resources, including from progressives who have focused on electoral politics. Sustaining movement-building can accomplish one massacre after another will not be enough to shift public debates and real prompt changes in policies about guns in America.

More Americans refused to admit it has a severe problem with guns and gun violence. And more than that, lawmakers continue to act like the solutions of gun control are some mystery. For years the politics and lawmaker have not done any research and experiences in other countries that show restriction order on how firearms can save lives or safety.

For the homicide rate, there are more countries in Europe having more gun control and less gun violence. Apparently, America has the highest rate of gun violence, and the reason is that these guns concentrate among a passionate minority, which are typically the loudest critics against any form of gun control and who scare legislators into voting against such measures. While few other people in some cases may use a gun to defend themselves or others successfully, the proliferation of firearms appears to cause far more violence than it prevents. That is what the Americans don’t understand; you use guns to protect yourself from danger not using weapons to violate the law or killing an innocent person.  

The question is, will it take until this generation of teenagers to run for office? I believe so because it will probably take time for this generation to get used to teenagers running for office. It’s funny how time flies, and there is no going back into doing the old fashion way of older people running for office and more technologies are getting stronger throughout the year. The problem is, these elders nowadays don’t want to listen to the youngest because they think they are too young to be running for office and they think these teens got a lot to learn about what it takes to be a government or a politician. According to Teenagers don’t take no for an answer: young activists see a turning point on guns, 17-year old Cate Whitman, a high school student from New York states, “Our age is not the focus of this issue. The focus of this issue is what’s going to get done and what we’re going to make it happen. So, if people want to talk about our age, if people want to put us down for that, if people don’t want to engage in real conversation and argument, they have no place at the table”. It means those teenagers are not going to give up and they will stand for what was right. They don’t have time taking crap from anybody, and they hate it. 

In Kansas, there are a bunch of teens who want to run for office and becoming the Governor of Kansas. A 16-year old Democrat name Jack Bergeson, who cannot vote but he decides to run for office in summer. That was right after he realized that there is no age requirement. The reason why he wants to run for office is that of the minimum wage workers, making sure all kids have their education, and getting people involved in politics. 

Some teens have already crowded 2018 races inspired a bill discussed by the House of Elections Committee which would set a minimum age of 18 for a candidate running for governor, the secretary of state, the attorney general, the state treasurer and the state commissioner of insurance.

Bonus 5- The Olympics: Why it's important?

The truth is, I never question myself why Olympics are the essential sports in real life and I’m not much of a sports person, plus I don’t watch any sports shows such as baseball, basketball, football, or any other sports. As a kid, I’ve always found these Olympic shows entertaining, probably is because you get to see more professional athletes who got trained well and they’ve been working extremely hard when they wanted to be part of the Olympic program. I remember watching the skating part, and I’ve been questioning myself of how skating could be part of sports. Plus, there were other different kinds of unusual games that I don’t know. According to Why are Olympics important? They state, “However sports have been a source of entertainment with a wide range of followers through the ages, and that's why we had Ancient Olympics from as long as 776 BC. Sports have been a test of man's physical prowess, setting limits and conquering them”. It means sports helps men build up strength and power to achieve their confidence. It was before they allow women to get involved in games.  

When I was in middle school, I learn that Olympic started in Ancient Greek where events were mainly athletic, but also included combat and chariot racing. But they were not the same as the Olympics we have today. The things I like about Olympic is you could get to see athletes coming from all over the world from Europe to Africa to Asia to South America and the athletes from the Caribbean.

I would say Olympics are the most important sports in the world because events that have that type of longevity are culturally significant traditions with timelines that predate most modern nations. They want to see countries competing for disputes militarily, economically, or socially. All around the world fights against one another on the same stage. The whole competing athletes and their teams forming a bond that often lasts a lifetime, and the audience see them to have a chance to learn about other cultures, as many profiles aired about the host city or area during the game.

Olympic was about the amount of pride winning a specific Olympic event brings to one’s country that considers the most nations on our planet are representative. This honor proves that one's country gets distinguished in any particular game or activity, and it is for these reasons why the Olympics are essential in our global culture and society. According to Why are Olympic Games important for participating nations? They state, “Olympics have come to signify a stage for political statements.” It means if a country performs excellently at the Olympics, it's an assertion of capability to achievement on a global stage.

In my opinion, Olympic wasn’t about sports; it’s about how every country with international athletes wanting to prove themselves that they can make their country proud. It’s like a competition to see which country has the most active people on the planet.    

Post 2, Group B - Deadly Affairs; The Boy Next Door by Kendra ZeMenye

The Boy Next Door is a 2015 erotic thriller film that tells a story of an older woman name Claire Peterson played by Jennifer Lopez separated from her unfaithful husband who has been cheating on her when he was caught sleeping with his secretary in his office. She falls for a 19-year old boy named Noah played by Ryan Guzman who moved next door and became friends with her son Kevin, but by the time Claire had an affair with a younger man, it soon turned into a dangerous game that Claire had to face as her biggest mistake. I found the movie exciting but scary at the same time because it was an amusing experience when you are attracted to somebody who caught your attention, and you feel the temptation rising your soul but the person you like, turns out to be a complete psychopath. Nowadays it’s about falling for someone based on their looks, their charm, and their body. The director Rob Cohen wanted to make a film in both romance and thriller because he wanted to show the audience, including girls, that love could do all kinds of crazy things when it comes to sexual intention. 

Rob Cohen wanted to create a film mixed with romance and thriller that could make the audience look terrified and shocked. He turns a feminine character-driven dramatic story into a roller-coaster ride of a movie that’s equal parts scary, disturbing, exciting and erotic in his new psychological thriller. He wanted to film an insane guy that leads to regular romance, to deadly affairs because there are girls out there who aren’t aware of that not all guys have the same level of love. 

When I watched the movie, it makes me feel like I want to go back into the old-fashioned romance, where guys are buying girls some flowers, candy, jewelry, and writing a love poem, and love letters. I miss those old times when guys take their girls out to eat, taking them to a theater, or another romance place. It’s even better than a psycho man taking you out of force, and that compares to Noah because he was on a mission to make Claire his and he doesn’t care what he does, he will do anything to keep her. During the film, you see movie scenes full of violence, the temptation that you cannot let it go, and doing what you’re doing that wasn’t right which leads you into deep trouble. Of course, it’s tough to go back after what you’ve done. Deadly affairs could be the worst mistake you would ever make, and that’s what happens when you play with fire until you burn down to the ground.  

I find it very disgusting when somebody's spouse has been cheating. I mean, what happened to those old times when spouses loved each other so much and staying faithful for so long until they grew old and died? Let's compare to Claire. She had a cheating husband, and she was feeling heartbroken. Ever since she got separated from her husband, she was feeling vulnerable, insecure, and she’s having trust issues. When she meets a younger man name, Noah, he made her feel desire, happy, joyful, excited, and alive until one day; she ends up seeing his true colors. It turns out Noah can be a psychotic killer or a criminal. Sleeping around with a crazy person, that could lead to deadly affairs. 

According to At Home with Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer states, “Honesty is essential. I am looking for someone who is like-minded and very respectful, conscious of someone else’s feelings and love themselves enough to have a healthy relationship; someone who will allow me to be myself 100 percent completely and will love me for that person” (46). It means it’s essential to have a healthy relationship with someone who loves and accepts you for who you are not because of your looks and body. Having a relationship with someone such as Noah who is a control freak and has a very sick-twisted mind is not healthy, and it can have negative consequences as Claire learns in the movie.

The scene that terrifies me was the last scene where Noah was forcing Claire to make her choice whether she wants to live with him or dies with her family, but she wants nothing from him. Noah was so pissed off and angry that he told Claire that if he can’t have her, no one will. So he ends up pouring kerosene around the barn, causing it to ignite in flames but Claire pulls a lever that drops an engine on Noah’s head, killing him. This scene is an example of how you cannot force somebody to love you, and those deadly affairs could make you pay the price for your action. 

Work Cited

Leonard, Elizabeth. "At Home with Jennifer Lopez. (Cover Story)." People, vol. 83, no. 5, 02 Feb. 2015, p. 46. EBSCOhost, proxy.library.umkc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=100559426&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Bonus 4: Cultural; Blackface by Kendra ZeMenye

During the 19th century in America, there were entertainment and performances for all whites only. There were no color people allowed to be involved in a theater play. Even though there were black people in a century who dreams of performing in theater play or wanting to become a famous actor, they got rejected at the color of their skin. Plus not all white audience wanted to see a black performance. They created a performance called Blackface, which is about white actors or performers painting their face black just to resemble a black person. The whites made all those stereotypes and insults to how black people behave and their culture which was very offensive and ignorant. It’s affecting on how the real black people feel. Today, there are still more white people making fun of black people’s perception. All these past about black and white culture is never going away.

 

The Blackface performance became popular around in the 1800’s, and the 1900’s when they put a first play called Minstrel show, which was an American entertainment performed by a bunch of Caucasians who were dancing, acting, singing and mocking how people of African decent behave in society during the plantation. It turns out Minstrel shows were one of the successful Blackface performance before slavery became abolished. The show appears before black people had their freedom.

For my argument, I would describe Blackface performers as the filthy scum of white society, because those whites don’t even have a clue on what it feels like to be black in society. Plus they had no right to mock black people’s appearances; it’s just disrespectful. All these white actors want to do is to make money. 

For my reaction to the Blackface performance, it was very shocking because I feel like those white performers wished to humiliate black culture just to make black people feel bad about themselves by putting them down and mocking their appearances. The whites were probably giving African-American a message that they should not accept the color of their skin. Like they should forget about their African blood and start living in a white world. According to Cultural Appropriation: When ‘Borrowing’ Becomes Exploitation, they were stating, “The idea of cultural appropriation has recently entered mainstream debates about how African artistic creations are used, borrowed and imitated by others. In fashion, art, music and beyond, some people now argue that specific African cultural symbols and products are off-limits to non-Africans.” What this quote was saying that all the culture and tradition that belong to the Africans were taken away by the Europeans or other countries. The whites today still wanted to dominate over black people.

As a half black person, I find that very offensive about the Blackface performance because the whites have no respect for black people, and they think it’s okay to make fun of color people or other racism, but it’s not okay. According to Cultural Appropriation: When ‘Borrowing’ Becomes Exploitation, they were stating, “Debates about appropriation aren’t always limited to cross-racial borrowing. An online discussion about African-American appropriation of African cultural symbols also went viral. It began with journalist Zipporah Gene asking black Americans to stop appropriating African clothing and tribal marks.” She argued this indicated “ignorance and cultural insensitivity.” What this quote was saying, that the whites were stupid to tell the black people to stop wearing African tradition clothes. The society’s nowadays when whites are telling blacks to go back to Africa where they belong. 

Bonus: Strict Religions and Women's Clothes by Kendra ZeMenye

We have strict religions that people with a high strict religious behavior believed that they just say or do what they need to do for the Lord to be blessed, which is an argument that just isn't going to make any sense. Or they lay a claim to some high morals, which means if you believe that morality derives from God, it is pretty much the same as saying you're doing what God wants or tells you to do. The most significant obstacle to such reforms by strict religions is the liberal imagination, which tends it to associate traditional ritual with being backward, ignorant, and right-wing. Just because something is tradition, doesn’t mean it’s okay. Of course, every strict religion has every long strict tradition. Today, they still have strict rules on how women should dress appropriately and not showing off their skin. 

I can’t stand strict religions because I believe that strict faiths can stress us out and it is taking away our freedom. In this society, there are some severe religions of how much women should be covering their whole body without showing off their skin. The Amish women, only married women wear a black cape and an apron to go to church with a colored dress underneath, but when it comes to single women, they wear a white cape and an apron to go to church with the same colored dress underneath. The highest strict religions are Muslims. The Muslim women are required to embrace the hijab as a way to celebrate their faith and feel that it helps them to maintain their intellectuality rather than becoming a sex object in society. You don't see Amish or Muslim women wearing show off outfits such as tank tops, mini skirts, shorts short, or mini dresses. 

People expect a woman to dress appropriately or professional so that people are not going to think that she’s a tramp who can’t keep her legs closed or being in the center of the attention. I agree that it's crucial for women to dress well not trashy. There is no need to make a strict religion of dress code for women harshly. Also, I will never forget back then, when women can only wear long skirts or long dress just to cover up their whole leg down to their ankle, plus they were not allowed to wear pants because more people believe that only men can wear pants. Now, women, today can wear pants.

What these people don’t understand is that not all women have the same level of dress code. Every woman has different taste in fashion whether if they are more of a high fashion person or a street fashion person. Most of them prefer to wear simple clothes when they do not care about living in a fancy world full of fancy people. Most of them are tomboys, who prefer to wear men clothes than being all girly girl. A person who is so strict about the dress code for women needs to get over it. If we women want to wear an outfit that makes us feel comfortable and confident, then we should not let anyone tell us what to do or changing our style, including our beauty. Even women want to show off just to get the guy's attention. 

I learn that religion is not about strict rules or strict religious. It is about believing what you think what was right or what was wrong in society. As for women, it's their choice to what type of clothes they like to wear that made them feel good about themselves because dresses for women defines her personality and her real beauty.   

Post 1, Group B--The Nutty Professor, Kendra ZeMenye

The Nutty Professor is a 1996 fantasy and science fiction comedy film starring the comedy actor Eddie Murphy and Jada Pinkett Smith who is the second wife of Will Smith. The Nutty Professor was a remake of the original movie filmed in 1963. The movie was about a nerdy, clumsy scientist who made a potion to transformed himself into a handsome guy, just to win the girl of his dream. The 1996 film portrays Eddie Murphy as Sherman Klump, a shy, but kind-hearted, an obese college professor who weighed about 400 pounds and fell in love with Carla Purty played by Jada Pinkett Smith who is Sherman’s love interest. He decides to lose 400 pounds just to win Purty's heart until he went down the wrong path. The director Tom Shadyac used the movie to portray how American society discriminates against people who are obese or who do not conform to our superficial standards.

It bothers me to hear people making fun of people who are big. Like they are saying people who are obese are lazy, clumsy, clueless, unattractive, and not bright but if you put the overweight person as a main character, the audience expects to see an obese person to be slow and dumb. Apparently, the director wanted to make a challenge by turning an unpopular overweight character into a likable character. What makes the audience like Sherman Klump was the way he respects his students, and he treated Carla Purty like a lady. He’s not like all the other guys who treat women as sex objects. 

Sherman gets humiliated because he was different, but because he did not conform to the superficial standards of American beauty. For example, in the restaurant called "Scream," Sherman and Carla were both being ridiculed and called names by a show businessman named Reggie Warrison. He said to Sherman that his big body was a full moon and he should be on his diet called “slim slow.” That hurts Sherman more. The more he was feeling embarrassed, the more he became sad, desperate, and insecure. It does compare today when you are being teased a lot because of your appearance. The restaurant scene makes me want to cry because you feel isolated by hiding somewhere where you want to get away from somebody who's been teasing you. The director Tom Shadyac conclusively shows how American society excludes people who don't conform to external standards. 

In the scene where Sherman created a blue weight loss potion that could help him transfer himself into a handsome guy just to attract Carla Purty's attention. He thinks it is the only way he could change his appearances which is why he wanted to improve his appearances. For me, I don’t approve Sherman making that kind of potion because I feel like Sherman is taking it too far and what Sherman’s doing is dangerous. At first, I thought he was damaging his body on purpose, but he was using the blue potion to lose 400 pounds. It does relate to society's today because people tried to improve themselves by getting plastic surgery, going to the gym, or using any weight loss product. For me, I try so hard to fit in and be one of the cool kids by wearing clothes that show off half of my skin and wearing make-up, but it did not make me feel like a better person. That compares to Sherman because he wanted to be accepted. It happened in real life when you had to dress to impress to change your appearances of attracting people's attention so you could act like you're a big shot.

After watching the movie, I learn that life is about how much you accept for who you are instead of pretending to be someone you’re not. I learn the most important lesson; you can't judge people based on their appearances whether if they're skinny, big, accessible, a nerd, tall or short; it's just like, "Don't the judge the book by its cover." I often learn that looks don't matter, but personality is what matters. And sometimes it is hard for someone to accept you, just because you're different. Most of all, it is not okay to joke someone based on their weight or how they dressed.

In Class Assignment, The Mummy by Kendra ZeMenye

I remember when I was a little kid, watching the mummy movie in the late 1990's. My family and I would watch the film together, and the movie takes place in ancient Egypt where the mistress of the pharaoh name Anck Su Namun who had an affair with Imhotep who was the pharaoh's high priest. By the time the Pharoah finds out, the mistress and the high priest killed him. Pharoah's bodyguard went after them, and Anck Su Namun had to kill herself so that Imhotep could bring her back from the dead. Apparently, Imhotep was too late, Pharoah's bodyguard caught him and buried him alive. That's the part that scares me, seeing someone murdering somebody, bringing the mummies back from the dead, and those magic spells that bring back the darkness.

After the movie was over, I went to sleep. For my dream, I dream I was inside the temple, and there were a bunch of mummies running after me. I was scared as heck. I kept running and running trying to call out for help, including my family, but there was no one to help me. So, I end up falling into a big hole. I woke up at 7 in the morning making sure that things that I see the mummy movie scene is not real in real life. For years, I've been scared to see that movie. As I'm grown now, I've realized that mummy movie was just make-believe. It was just a thrill and a fantasy movie just to scare people.