Final Blog

Throughout the semester we were given numerous opportunities to write about various subjects. In particular, my personal favorite piece of writing had to be analysis blog three. We were given the opportunity to analyze a show and I analyzed Entourage. I enjoyed this because it forced me to actively view the show and the different connections it made from particular things the characters had mentioned. Also, along with this I felt that the song analysis blog has made me pay more attention to the lyrics of songs in which I had not done before.
Learning how to properly cite using MLA has forced me to use more credible sources in my papers. In the past, I would often use sources that I would just find on the internet which are not always appropriate. With this class I have begun to direct more of my research towards credible newspaper and journal articles. The powerpoint presentation also allowed me to work on my presentation/speech skills which I think is always important to practice.
Throughout the semester the class engaged in intellectual conversations about various subjects. I was looking forward to learning new things from my classmates at the beginning of the semester and I definitely feel that I got just that. Being a biology major I am not given many opportunities to actively write about what I am feeling and I think I received that in this class. Overall, English 1020 was an excellent class and helped improve my writing in various ways. Thank you Mrs. Welter for being a great professor.

Blog #9-McGowan

“The result has been that an increasingly authoritarian agenda has been sold to the American people by a massive, multi-tentacled media machine that has become, for all intents and purposes, a propaganda organ of the state. McGowan goes along with Eisenhower and discusses in his claim that the media is a powerful, influential advertising agent that is basically trying to take over the lives of American people.
McGowan mentions that “lying is an integral element of the business of government.” In this context it can be perpetuated that the media and the government work along with one another. The government (ex. Politicians) will favor a specific media source in a positive light that covers their positive side and that does not mention any of its lies or disinformation.
Another interesting point that McGowan brings up is how the media determines what the “issues” are. He discusses how the media portrays guns, rock/rap music, and video games are the ones to blame in youth violence and as a result school violence. However, it is noted that youth violence has actually declined. Since the media has created this issue we as a society begin to question whether adolescents should be exposed to these sorts of things. Media does not want to send the real message out that it is society as a whole to blame. It is considered to become too complicated that way when it is much simpler to blame pop culture.

Blog #8

I receive the most of my news from CBC news or MSN.ca. While checking my hotmail I usually read the highlights posted on MSN.ca right afterwards. I enjoy watching CBC news because it not only provides me with world events, but also events occurring throughout Canada.
MSN.ca (Canada) is Microsoft’s news wire and it is not only in the United States, but worldwide. I like this news source primarily because it is quick and has up to date events posted throughout the day. I evaluate the accuracy of this website in that I know it is going to have some nonsense stories because it is owned and operated by Microsoft. It will not necessarily display all the big events in a day, but will post particular stories that receive the most hits and which are most popular. This I feel is a marketing and money-making scheme for Microsoft to display mindless stories to get more people to click on them. For example, stories about Anna Nicole Smith’s death most likely provided them with a large endorsement since so many people were checking up on this particular issue/story.
CBC stands for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It provides the most important stories throughout the world along with the top Canadian headlines. I evaluate the accuracy of CBC in that it provides reliable and up to date information on a daily basis. I enjoy how they portray worldwide news because they often times describe Canada’s role in a particular issue. Since most American news channels do not provide any stories from Canada I love the CBC for providing up to date Canadian news about society and politics.

Presentation Blog

Everyone in the class so far has done an excellent job in presenting their movies. Many of the movies I have not seen but with the information and claims provided I will be able to view them without a passive attitude.
Chris Abbas did a great job in comparing Coach Boone in “Remember the Titans” to the actor Denzel Washington. After viewing this great movie I can definitely agree with Chris, that Denzel is perhaps one of the greatest actor’s alive. He did a fantastic job in comparing how they both went through struggles to achieve their present positions and how they both are always ready to motivate others.
LaMeisha did a great job in her presentation about the movie “Not Another Teen Movie.” I really enjoyed her claim about the effects of comedy in today’s world. I definitely see this becoming a huge issue in society today because everyone is always ready to judge others and movies only enhance this thought.
I really enjoyed Ali’s presentation on “The Pursuit of Happiness.” I think anyone who has gone through or is going through any struggle will realize after watching this movie that with hard work and a positive attitude anything can happen.
Rudy also did a great job on the movie “The Departed.” I personally have not seen this movie but I have wanted to see it for awhile. The claims he discussed about betrayal in the movie has made me even more excited to see it because I will look for specific scenarios when I see it.

Work Cited for Analysis Blog #3

Works Cited

“About the Show.” HBO. 3 March, 2007.
http://www.hbo.com/entourage/about/index.html

“Good Morning Saigon.” Entourage. HBO. Alluc.org. 21 August 2005. 3 March 2007.
http://www.alluc.org/alluc/tv-shows.html?action=getviewcategory&category/
_uid=942

Analysis Blog #3-Entourage

Currently airing in its third season HBO’s hit comedy series Entourage has become of one of the hottest shows on television today. It takes a look at the day-to-day life of a hot young actor Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) along with his elder brother and two best friends. They all come from the Queens, NY and successfully arise into the celebrity lifestyle in Hollywood, California (About the Show). Examining season 2 episode 20 we see that it incorporates vulgar language, the image of ‘money’ and particular forms of music which has allowed it to become one of the televisions hottest shows primarily directed towards men.
The young men of this show use very vulgar language when communicating with one another. For example, during an argument between Eric (Vince’s manager) and Aari (Vince’s agent) they communicate vulgar language to one another. In a particular instance Eric says to Aari “if you ever f****** sandbag me like that we are going to have a big f****** problem” (Good Morning Saigon).The above example portrays how men need to be seen as tough and strong when interacting with other male counterparts. There male ego enforces them to act in a particular way through the use of vulgar language in order not to appear weak. From a female stand-point it appears as though that young men in their twenties enjoy viewing this type of degradation because it reinforces them to feel tough and strong.
Along with vulgar language the image of ‘money’ has also become an important aspect in the success of this show. The four young men live in a large expensive house in Hollywood along with driving a Hummer and a Maserati. In this episode, their Maserati is stolen and the following day they go to pick it up. While waiting to pick up their 100,000 dollar car Vincent’s brother Drama makes a comment that “once a car has been stole it never runs the same again, its like a guy sleeping with your girl, he leaves his mark all over” (Good Morning Saigon). The writers portray this as a metaphor that an expensive car is like sleeping with a beautiful woman. Once another man sleeps with a man’s girlfriend she is tainted and he cannot sleep with her again. Hence, one also cannot drive the expensive car because it is tainted by the person who stole it. Relating an expensive car and a beautiful woman in this metaphor argues that most men who wish to be or are successful only care about those two notions. Consequently, it reinforces in a young man’s mind that the only way to be seen as truly masculine is if they have success of having a beautiful car and lady by their side.
While driving around in expensive cars the young men of this show primarily listen to rap music and as a result often draw attention to themselves. The four of them usually go everywhere together and they are depicted as bouncing their heads back and forth while listening to the rap music. Some men viewing this and who enjoy rap themselves see this as the way the rich and famous ‘like to ride’. After viewing this show they might be reinforced to believe that in order to draw attention to themselves, perhaps to pick up a girl, they should be listening to rap music as well.
Some may say that Entourage has become the new Sex and the City for men because of its ability to reinforce the male ego to believe that behaving tough and strong through vulgar language is the way to go. Having become a popular show it provides young men with images of how successful and masculine men should behave. As more young men work to become successful and flaunt their ego Entourage will continue to become one of hottest shows on television.

Television Show Blog

There are numerous sitcoms these days that everyone seems to love or hate. I personally do not watch too many television shows because I do not have that much time to keep up with them and I’d rather spend my time doing other things.
The only television show that I have kept up with watching over the last couple of years is The OC. In the last year and a half it went downhill simply because they ran out of good stories. When Marissa left the show last year it got slightly a bit better because she wasn’t the greatest actress. However, Fox has considered it to be a bad show and is cancelling it this week. I definitely do plan on watching the final episode primarily because I have been watching it for so long, I need to know how they end it.
Other than The OC, the only other television that I watch are shows that you can watch at random times without having to know what is going in the plot or repeats of older television shows. These shows primarily include Friends, King of Queens, American Idol, and The Young and the Restless. Y and R is a soap opera that I have been growing up watching for years. It is a great soap opera that I really only have to watch once every 2 weeks and I’ll still know what’s going on in the plot because soaps do not like to move very fast. Along with the above shows listed I enjoy watching the news, specifically CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Chanel). I love being informed about what is going on around me and the rest of the world.

Blog #4-Radio Stations

I listened to 91.5 the Beat for an hour today. It is a new hit music Canadian station for Kitchener, Ontario and the Tri-Cities area. It primarily plays the hottest new rhythmic/contemporary radio hits. It plays approximately 70% American radio hits. According to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission all Canadian radio stations must play 30% of its music produced by Canadian artists or the lyrics must be written entirely by a Canadian. Why do Canadians do this? Through a protectionism approach we fear that without a regulatory system, independent Canadian popular culture would be swallowed up by that of the neighboring United States.

The above radio stations target audience is primarily young people who enjoy listening to hip hop and pop music. I primarily listen to that radio station because I enjoy listening to rhythmic/contemporary music while I am driving. It is also nice to be able to listen to new and upcoming Canadian singers who are trying to make it big in the mainstream culture. These Canadian artists eventually do make it big all around North American (ex. Nelly Furtado, Baranaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, etc. ).

The music played is pretty much the exact same music you would hear on a Detroit hit radio station, however, with an added bonus of hearing more Canadian artists. The ads on 9.15 the Beat is also very similar to Detroit radio stations. Moving closer to the weekend I often hear ads about happening club events and concerts. One huge difference I have found between the different countries are the DJ’s commentary. The DJ’s on some radio stations in Detroit are much more open in mentioning vulgar things in comparison to Canada.

Extended Blog #2-"What goes around"

Song Analysis

Justin Timberlake one of hottest pop sensations today burst out with one of the hottest albums of the year in 2006. The hottest hit from his album presently is “What goes around.” Living in a ‘run and go’ society his lyrics have become a quick fix for many people who have experienced heartache. He achieves this through an intentional plot of an unfaithful lover, the varying mood of the song, and the genre of the song.

There appears to be an intentional theme and plot in “What goes around.” Justin Timberlake is conveying his feelings and emotions of how he dated a girl who he loved but, she was an unfaithful lover and broke up with him. We know that she is an unfaithful lover when he sings the part “You cheated girl. My heart bleeds” (Justin Timberlake). Listening to this song we are given the opportunity to comprehend ourselves of how the women could’ve cheated and made him upset. The young women had what was coming to her because the man she had left for Justin Timberlake cheated on her. This is noted in the song when he sings “You spend your nights alone. And he never comes home. And every time you call him. All you get’s a busy tone. I heard you found out. That he’s doing to you. What you did to me. Ain’t that the way it goes” (Justin Timberlake). The plot highlights what may go on in someone’s mind when they are cheated on and how the person cheated on has reassurance that their ex will get what they deserve.

The mood and tune of a song greatly shapes how people perceive a song. The beginning of the song appears to be in a minor tune. The music is very soft with light guitar and drums playing in the background. There is sadness in the mood as Justin Timberlake vent’s his emotion of how upset he is that his girlfriend cheated on him. The second half of the song changes into a major tune which appears as the climax and strongest portion of the song. The music switches into heavier guitar and drums. There is somewhat a sense of happiness because he is glad she got her heart broken as well and he does not want to take her back. This is apparent when he sings “You wish you had somebody. That could come and make it right. But girl I ain’t somebody with a lot of sympathy” (Justin Timberlake).

This song appears to be classified under the pop genre and can be appealing to a many listeners. The song is classified in the pop genre primarily because the artist is a pop sensation. It’s a song that many people can relate to who have been through similar experiences of the unforgiving indictments of an unfaithful lover. The lyrics are very effective if the listener pays attention to them carefully either in the car, an office, or at home. The effectiveness of the song comes from the fact that it allows people who are going through heartache the reassurance that everything will be okay in the long run.

Justin Timberlake’s lyrics have become very motivational for people who are going through relationship problems. “What goes around” allows the listener to place themselves in the song and feel the emotions associated with heartache. In the busy world society lives in today it sometimes is difficult for people to talk to others about their emotions. Hence, with songs “What goes around” it becomes easier and quicker for people to vent their emotions through the lyrics.

Works Cited

Justin Timberlake. “What goes around.” FutureSex/LoveSounds. CD. Rec. 2006. Jive Records, 2006.

Justin Timberlake. “What goes around.” Song Lyrics.com. 5 Feb. 2007. <http://songslyrics.selaplana.com/songs/international/what-goes-around-comes- around-justin-timberlake/>


Lyrics to Justin Timberlake (The lyrics got all messed up when I tried to copy and paste them.)

What Goes Around Hey girl, is he everything you wanted in a man You know I gave you the world You had me in the palm of your hand So why your love went away I just can't seem to understand Thought it was me and you babe Me and you until the end But I guess I was wrong Don't want to think about it Don't want to talk about it I'm just so sick about it Can't believe it's ending this way Just so confused about it Feeling the blues about it I just can't do without ya Tell me is this fair? Is this the way it's really going down? Is this how we say goodbye? Should've known better when you came around That you were gonna make me cry It's breaking my heart to watch you run around 'Cause I know that you're living a lie That's okay baby 'cause in time you will find... What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around Now girl, I remember everything that you claimed You said that you were moving on now And maybe I should do the same Funny thing about that is I was ready to give you my name Thought it was me and you, babe And now, it's all just a shame And I guess I was wrong Don't want to think about it Don't want to talk about it I'm just so sick about it Can't believe it's ending this way Just so confused about it Feeling the blues about it I just can't do without ya Can you tell me is this fair? Is this the way things are going down? Is this how we say goodbye? Should've known better when you came around (should've known better that you were gonna make me cry) That you were going to make me cry Now it's breaking my heart to watch you run around 'Cause I know that you're living a lie That's okay baby 'cause in time you will find What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around comes around Yeah What goes around comes around. You should know that What goes around comes around Yeah What goes around comes around You should know that Don't want to think about it (no) Don't want to talk about it I'm just so sick about it Can't believe it's ending this way Just so confused about it Feeling the blues about it (yeah) I just can't do without ya Tell me is this fair? Is this the way things are going down? Is this how we say goodbye? Should've known better when you came around (should've known better that you were gonna make me cry) That you were going to make me cry Now it's breaking my heart to watch you run around 'Cause I know that you're living a lie But that's okay baby 'cause in time you will find What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around What goes around, goes around, goes around Comes all the way back around [Comes Around interlude:] Let me paint this picture for you, baby You spend your nights alone And he never comes home And every time you call him All you get's a busy tone I heard you found out That he's doing to you What you did to me Ain't that the way it goes You cheated girl My heart bleeds girl So it goes without saying that you left me feeling hurt Just a classic case A scenario Tale as old as time Girl you got what you deserved And now you want somebody To cure the lonely nights You wish you had somebody That could come and make it right But girl I ain't somebody with a lot of sympathy You'll see (What goes around comes back around) I thought I told ya, hey (What goes around comes back around) I thought I told ya, hey (What goes around comes back around) I thought I told ya, hey (What goes around comes back around) I thought I told ya, hey See? You should've listened to me, baby Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Because (What goes around comes back around)

Extended Blog #1-Online Dating

Popular culture is defined as a contemporary lifestyle where items are well known and generally accepted. Magazine advertisements are one of the biggest instigators of popular culture in North American today. Companies will depict almost anything in order to get their product to sell. In US weekly, I came across an online dating website advertisement called Match.com. It portrays a young doctor wearing an expensive watch and holding a stethoscope up to his heart. On the bottom of the advertisement it says “All new! Match.com. It’s okay to look.” Match.com along with other dating company advertisements attempt to sell themselves in very similar ways. They depict their advertisements to direct their aim to present a status quota that must be met in certain people, to successful people who have had difficulty finding someone special, and people who are not looking for someone but, just want to browse.

The advertisement depicts a status quota that most people look for in a mate. The young man who is a Doctor in the picture appears to be wearing a very expensive watch. By wearing an expensive materialistic object it portrays him showing off his status as a professional. Many single women in society today look for someone who is professionally established. This may be achieved by analyzing the type of materialistic objects he may possess from the clothing he wears to the type of car he drives. For men I personally feel that it is slightly different. Some successful men may not want professional women but, simply a good looking girl to ‘look good all the time.’ However, some men are not this shallow and prefer successful women who are at the same status quo as the male. As a result, online dating websites appears to be one of the norm sources to meet someone with a particular status quota.

Many career-oriented and people who are busy in professional school often have a difficult time meeting people because they are very busy making a life for themselves. They are so caught up in becoming successful that they often forget to look around to meet someone special. When they become successful they desperately begin to search around for the perfect mate. They are sometimes introduced to friends of friends or they might even meet someone in a social setting. However, this may not be very easy for everyone. As a result, online dating websites such as Match.com appear to be a practical source today for successful people to meet other successful people. They can easily chat with someone with similar interests and dislikes. If they don’t like the person they can simply just move on to the next interesting person that appears down the internet page.

In bold the advertisement writes “It’s okay to look.” Analyzing this quote it appears that they are trying to sell the message that even if you are not searching for a relationship it is okay to browse. Many people I know find it very odd to search for relationships online because of the stigma it has of ‘meeting strangers on the internet.’ However, oddly enough I find these same people browsing these online dating websites just looking at other stranger’s profiles for the fun of it. I find that many people do not want to admit that they are desperate enough to search these online dating websites. Thus, I feel that the bottom line comes down to the fact that many professional people use this as their last resort when they are desperate to find someone to settle down with.

The Match.com advertisement appears to be one of the norm advertisements in magazines and internet ads today. Through popular culture our world has become very small in that many people have the ability to look for relationships through the internet. Also through magazines a company has the ability to sell itself by instigating the fact that you have the ability to meet successful and rich people through their online dating website. With more and more online dating websites developing I am afraid that one day people will discontinue meeting people in social settings but, instead only resort to the world of communicating with others through the internet.

Blog #3

Throughout my University career I have been given numerous opportunities to write a variety of different types of papers. These types of papers ranged from argumentative sociology essays to scientific research papers.

In my freshman year of University I had to write two sociology essays for my sociology class. I began the essay process by first choosing a topic that I could be interested in. My topic of choice for the two different essays included interracial marriages and the effects of domestic violence on children. I then began my research at the University library after choosing my topic. I found it useful and less time consuming to structure my three main points first and then working backwards to write my thesis. Once completing my research I then basically sat down to write two very great argumentative essays.

In my sophomore year of University I predominantly focused on taking biology courses. A few of my biology courses were intense lab courses and as a result I was required to write all my lab reports up in a scientific research form. These papers required an abstract, introduction which included the hypothesis, materials and methods, results, and conclusion. It was interesting to write these papers because through the results that I obtained I was able to confer a reasonable conclusion as to what has scientifically occurred.

From the above past writing experiences I would have to say that I enjoyed writing scientific research papers the most. It was very exciting to discover from my results that I may have completed an experiment successfully. Regardless of completing it successfully or not I would always learn something new about biology.

Blog #2

Flipping through the course syllabus and calendar I see a great deal of writing and discussions relevant to the pop culture scene. There are many interesting topics to be touched upon in this class. I think from personal experiences and fellow students past experiences we can have very argumentative discussions. That is one thing that is very important to me which is actively listening to others in hopes to learn something new about a particular topic of interest.
I primarily expect to enhance my writing capability in this class. With the “SF Writer” and the “World is a Text” I hope to get helpful hints on how to make my writing more engaging and exciting for the reader. Also with the opportunity to peer review I look forward to reviewing other papers and receiving positive feedback from my peers. From past experiences, I have mostly used APA to document my sources. During the MLA Workshop Day I learnt how to document basic sources through that method. I know with learning about each source and with practice and I can begin to use MLA to my advantage for writing better papers.
I also hope to learn how to properly structure formal papers in a University manner in this class. With this in mind and the practice we will receive from the three papers I hope to write more interesting papers that the reader will enjoy. With the knowledge and support from Nancy Welter I hope to better my writing capability so it will stay with me forever.

Blog #1

Hello to everyone in English 1020. My name is Mehtab and I was born and raised in London, Ontario, Canada. At the present time I live in Windsor, Ontario. I transferred into my junior year at Wayne last semester from a Canadian University near my home in Canada. My major is biology from which I will complete my degree next year and then apply to dental schools both in Canada and the United States.
I have two very loving parents and am the youngest and only girl out of two brothers. My background is of the East Indian origin and in less than a week I will be 21 years old. Growing up in a city of approximately 350,000 people I have come to appreciate the culture and joy that a small city provides. Such joys include the excitement of running into old friends and acquaintances from elementary school and high school. Also, since London has a large Indian population I have grown up learning about and experiencing the culture of my ancestors. By living nearby to Detroit I am looking forward to experiencing the excitement that a Metropolitan city can provide.
One of my favorite books that I have read in recent years is The Prophet, written by Kahlil Gibran. It is an intellectual book that provides enlightenment on day to day encounters. I feel it is a great book to read to bring your spirits up whenever you are feeling down. I enjoy listening to all genres of music, even country. My current favorite genre of music is Techno and House. I enjoy listening to the fast tempo of these genres while working out and while relaxing. I am looking forward to English 1020 and being able to incorporate past experiences into class discussion and into my essays.